We won't know until Friday's report from the Labor Department, but experts
predict as many as 600,000 jobs were lost in January.
The ADP Employer Services report, a monthly review of manufacturing and service jobs based on payroll data,
estimates that employers cut 522,000 jobs in the U.S. in January.
Other experts put the number of jobs lost in January anywhere from
520,000 to 600,000... with expectations that the nation's unemployment
rate will jump to 7.5 percent (from the current 7.2 percent) -- the
highest level in 16 years. Some expect the unemployment number to jump
even higher, perhaps closer to 8 percent, depending on the size of the job cuts.
These loses continue the trend set in January of last year. The U.S. lost almost
2.6 million jobs in 2008 -- the most since 1945.
Meanwhile, more companies are announcing layoffs, from PNC Financial Services
(which gobbled up National City and is facing serious redundancies of operations)
-- which plans cuts of 5,800 jobs -- to Liz Claiborne, Inc., which is eliminating
725 jobs, and King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which is cutting 520 jobs.
