Labor Department reports biggest job loss since 1974

This morning's report in the New York Times is full of good news:

Worse-than expected job loss:

The country moved into its second year of uninterrupted job losses last month, with companies shedding another 598,000 jobs — the most since December 1974… Economists had forecast a loss of 540,000 jobs..

Worse than-expected unemployment: 7.6 percent instead of the predicted 7.5

Dire statistics: "The jobless rate is at its highest since September 1992."

And dire predictions:

Many economists expect that the economy will continue to contract until July at the very least, but at a slowing pace in the second quarter. That would make it the longest recession since the 1930s, outlasting the two record-holders, the mid-1970s and early 1980s downturns. Each of these recessions lasted 16 months. The current recession, which started in December 2007, would reach that milestone in April.

Enjoy.

This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2009.