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December IO, 2 0 0 8
Page A5
B usiness
Job Losses Worst in 34 Years
Numbers
called shocking
(AP) - Skittish employers
slashed 533,OO0jobs in November,
the most in 34 years, catapulting
the unemployment rate to 6.7 per­
cent, dramatic proof the country is
careening deeper into recession.
The new figures, released by
the Labor Department Friday,
showed the crucial employment
market deteriorating at an alarm­
ingly rapid clip, and handed
Americans some more grim news
right before the holidays.
As companies throttled back
hiring, the unemployment rate
bolted from 6.5 percent in Octo-
berto6.7percent last month,a 15-
year high.
"These numbers are shock­
ing," said economist Joel Naroff,
president of Naroff Economics
A d v iso rs. "C o m p an ies are
sharply reacting to the economy's
problem s and slashing costs.
They are not trying to ride it out."
The unemployment rate would
have moved even higher if not for
the exodus of422,000 people from
the w ork force. E conom ists
thought many of those people
probably abandoned their job
searches out of sheer frustration.
In November 2007, the jobless
rate was at 4.7 percent.
The U.S. tipped into recession
last December, a panel of experts
declared earlier this week, con­
firming what many Americans al­
ready thought.
Since the start of the reces­
sion, the economy has lost 1.9
million jobs, the number of unem­
ployed people increased by 2.7
million and the jobless rate rose
by 1.7 percentage points.
President-elect Barack Obama
said the dismal job news under­
scored the need for forceful ac­
tion, even as he warned that the
pain could not be quickly relieved.
"There are no quick or easy
fixes to this crisis... and it's likely
to get worse before it gets better,"
Obama said. "At the same time,
th is... provides us with an oppor-
The job reductions were the
most since a whopping 602,000
positions were slashed in Decem­
ber 1974, when the country was in
a severe recession.
All told, 10.3 million people
were left unemployed as of No­
vember, whi le the number of em­
ployed was 144.3 million.
Employers are slashing costs
to the bone as they try to cope
with sagging appetites from cus­
tomers in the U.S. and in other
countries, which are struggling
with theirown economic troubles.
Obama, who takes office on
Jan. 20, has called for a massive
economic recovery bill to gener­
ate 2.5 million jobs over his first
tw o years in office. H ouse
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,
has vowed to have a package
ready on Inauguration Day for
Obama's signature.
The measure, which could to­
tal $500 billion, would bankroll
big public works projects to cre­
ate jobs, provide aid to states to
help with Medicaid costs, and
provide money toward renewable
energy development.
At 12 months and counting,
the recession is longer than the
The Metropoli tan Exposition accounting department and, in
Recreation Com m ission has addition to those duties, estab­
named Rebecca Green as its new lished herself as the lead user
Business Analyst and Informa­ and trainer of the software.
tion T echnology
“Rebecca offers
Training Coordina­
a unique set of skills
tor.
tliat match perfectly
Green will be re­
with this position,”
sponsible for de­
sta te d
D avid
veloping and imple­
W oolson, MERC
menting MERC’s
chief executive of­
information tech­
ficer.
nology training ma-
T he g o v e rn ­
terials j n d pro­
m e n ta l a g e n c y
grams for its core
oversees m anage­
business systems R ebecca Green
ment of the Oregon
and office software.
Convention C en­
She was most recently em­ ter. Portland Center for the Per­
ployed as an Accounting II Tech form ing A rts and Portland
in the organization’s finance and Expo Center.
Boss Hogg
A trader a t the New York S to c k Exchange p u ts his ha n d s on his h e a d a s sto c k s fall in
re sp o n se to a grim U.S. jo b s report.
tunity to transform our economy
to improve the lives of ordinary
people by rebuilding roads and
modernizing schools for our chil­
dren, investing in clean energy
solutions to break our depen­
dence on imported oil, and mak­
ing an early down payment on the
long-term reforms that will grow
and strengthen our economy for
all Americans for years to come."
To provide relief, the Bush
administration will continue to
concentrate on ways to bust
through a credit jam that is feed­
ing p ro m in e n tly into the
economy's problems. Commerce
Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told
The Associated Press in an inter­
view. "We’re going to stay fo­
cused on that like a laser," he said.
Job losses last month were
widespread, hitting factories, con­
struction companies, financial
firms, retailers, leisure and hospi­
tality, and others industries. The
few places where gains were
logged included the government,
education and health services.
The lossof533,000payroll jobs
was much deeper than the 320,(XX)
job cuts economists were fore­
casting.
Expo Commission Promotion
Christmas Tree Lot
10-month average length of re­
cessions since World War II. The
record for the longest recession
in the postwar period is 16 months,
which was reached in the 1973-75
and 1981-82 downturns. The cur­
rent recession might end up match­
ing that or setting a record in
terms of duration, analysts say.
The 1981-82 recession was the
worst in terms of unemployment
since the Great Depression. The
jobless rate rose as high as 10.8
percent in late 1982, just as the
recession ended, before inching
down.
Given the current woes, the
jobless rate could rise as high as
8.5 percent by the end of next
year, some analysts predict. Pro­
jections, however, have to be
taken with a grain of sal, because
of all the uncertainties plaguing
the economy. Still, the unemploy­
ment rate often peaks after a re­
cession has ended. That's be­
cause companies are reluctant to
ramp up hiring until they feel cer­
tain the recovery has staying
power.
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magazine for his market­
governm ental agency
ing of good environmen­
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“To be nominated by
T he O reg o n C o n v en tio n
The magazine cited
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ciency and other green
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designs, the diversion of
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Center, but throughout the entire 266 tons of materials from land­
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Jeff Blosser, Oregon Conven­ assembly management industry," fills, and the creation of the 2009
tion Centerexecuti ve director, was stated David Woolson, chief ex­ Green Business to Business Con­
named a 2008 Hall of Headlines ecutive officer of the Metropoli- ference.
Executive leads
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P D C B u dget
E arns Aw ard
The Portland Development
Commission has been honored
for high standards in the way it
presented its fiscal year 2007-08
budget document.
The Distinguished Budget Pre­
sentation Award came from the
Government Finance Officers
Association of the United States
and Canada, serving 17,500 gov­
ernment finance professionals
through North America.
“This is a great honor for PDC
and reflects the hard work and
dedication of the talented staff in
our budget departm ent,” said
Julie Cody, PD C 'schief financial
Officer. “Staff work hard each
year to produce an annual budge,
document that is comprehensive,
easy to understand and easy to
navigate. This is wonderful rec­
ognition.”
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