Remember how last year we noted that 84,000 workers had lost their jobs in the single month of August?
As an indication of how quickly the economic crisis is growing, we’re now starting to see figures like that for jobs lost in a single day:
Caterpillar Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp., Home Depot Inc. and ING Groep NV led companies today announcing at least 74,000 job cuts as sales withered and construction slowed amid a global economic recession that may persist through 2009.
In the U.S., the firings brought the number of job eliminations this month to at least 150,500, according to Chicago-based executive search firm Challenger Gray & Christmas.
The firings came as American jobless claims hit a 26-year high, reaching 589,000 in the week ended Jan. 17, as shrinking demand for products and services forced companies to lower costs.
“These are not just numbers on a page,” U.S. President Barack Obama said at the White House, referring to recent job cut announcements. “We cannot afford delays” in getting an $825 billion economic recovery program through Congress.
Bloomberg’s writeup is a little confusing because it includes job cuts announced today by European companies in its totals, but compares those totals to trends in American job losses. Even when you break out the overseas cutbacks, though, the picture is pretty grim; just going by the individual listings in the article, there’s at least 56,000 more American workers out of work today.
Tough times ahead.