The unemployment rose to 8.1% in February after another 651,000 jobs were lost in February according to the Labor Department. The Wall Street Journalquotes Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, who says we will reach 10% unemployment by the end of 2009.
The number of jobless Americans rose to 12.5 million in February, pushing the unemployment rate to 8.1%, up from 7.6% in January, said the Labor Department.
"We'll be at 10% unemployment by year end," said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. "What's going to stop it?"
The U.S. has lost 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007 -- more than half the losses coming in the last four months as the worst financial crisis in decades has intensified the economy's steep decline.
The jobs data is really grim. Bloomberg gives you an idea of just how bad it is when they note that job losses have now exceeded 600,000 for three straight months - the "first time this has happened since the data began in 1939."
