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US Unemployment To Hit 9% In 2009
By Mike Rowan on February 24, 2009 | More Posts By Mike Rowan | Author's Website
Go figure. No good economics news here: The recession is projected to worsen this year.
The country stands to lose a sizable chunk of economic activity in 2009 as consumers at home are concerned that the job losses could continue to spread.
And the U.S. unemployment rate - now at 7.6 percent, the highest in more than 16 years - is expected hit a peak of 9 percent this year.
Economists now expect the economy to shrink by 1.9 percent this year, a much deeper contraction than the 0.2 percent dip projected in the fall.
If the new forecast is correct, it would mark the first time since 1991 the economy actually contracted over a full year and would be the worst showing since 1982, when the country had suffered through a severe recession.
Vanishing jobs, shrinking 401k and Retirement Plans, and a large drop in home values have forced American consumers to cut back, which in turn has caused businesses to lay off workers and slash costs in other ways, feeding a vicious downward cycle for the economy.
Economists have said the nation’s unemployment rate could rise as high as 9 percent for all of 2009 and hit 10 percent next year. In 2008, the jobless rate averaged 5.8 percent, the highest since 2003.
Companies touching every part of the economy have announced thousands of layoffs already this year and more cuts came last week.
Here is a chart that runs through the most recent economic casualties on the job front.
Unemployment Rises as Layoffs Continue
| Company | Date | How many | Further reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02/12/2009 | 40 | Google scraps radio ads | |
| Pioneer | 02/12/2009 | 10,000 | Pioneer leaving the TV business |
| Nokia | 02/11/2009 | 410; 500-700 rotating | Nokia cuts production, closes facility |
| Forrester | 02/09/2009 | 50 (5 percent) | Forrester to lay off 5 percent |
| MPAA | 02/05/2009 | unknown | Source: ‘Significant’ layoffs at MPAA |
| Panasonic | 02/04/2009 | 15,000 | Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs |
| Electronic Arts | 02/03/2009 | 1,100 (11 percent) | EA cutting 1,100 jobs |
| NEC | 01/30/2009 | 20,000 (13 percent) | NEC to cut workforce by 20,000 |
| Novell | 01/30/2009 | 100 (3 percent) | Novell lays off just under 100 workers |
| Teradyne | 01/30/2009 | 532 | Boston.com: Teradyne will shed 532 jobs |
| Citrix Systems | 01/30/2009 | 490 (10 percent) | Citrix to reduce staff by 10 percent |
| STMicroelectronics | 01/28/2009 | 4,500 | STMicro reports loss, lays off 4,500 |
| AOL | 01/28/2009 | 700 | AOL to lay off 700 employees |
| SAP | 01/28/2009 | 3,000 | SAP plans job cuts, despite solid earnings |
| Texas Instruments | 01/26/2009 | 12 percent | Texas Instruments cutting jobs as profits plunge |
| Sprint Nextel | 01/26/2009 | 8,000 | Sprint Nextel to cut 8,000 jobs |
| Philips | 01/26/2009 | 6,000 | Philips to cut 6,000 jobs |
| IBM | 01/24/2009 | More than 2,800 | IBM quietly lays off North American staff |
| Microsoft | 01/22/2009 | 5,000 | Microsoft cutting 5,000 jobs on weak results |
| Ericsson | 01/21/2009 | 5,000 (6 percent) | Ericsson to cut 5,000 jobs |
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