The unemployment rate in the United States hit a 16 year high in December of 7.2 per cent according to US Department of Labor data released over the weekend.
US employers shed an enormous 524,000 jobs in December bringing 2008’s total job losses to 2.6 million – the most in any one year since the second world war.
More than half of the 2.6 million job losses occurred within the last four months of the year, pointing to a bleak start for 2009.
Jobs data for Australia is also due out this week; the unemployment rate is tipped to rise, but only slightly, from 4.4 to at least 4.5 per cent.
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