Employers Cut 63,000 Jobs in February

The lede in the New York Sun, reported by Jennine Aversa of the AP tells it like it is.

Employers slashed jobs by 63,000 in February, the most in five years and the starkest sign yet the country is heading dangerously toward recession or is in one already.

That 63,000 number is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Establishment Survey which is a report on jobs from employers.  The Household Survey, a BLS survey of households, is no better, with a reduction of 255,000 in the number of people who say they are employed.  You can see the latest numbers here. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also lets you view their time series on employment.  You can find the URLs for them here.

The Establishment Survey graph shows employment increase slowing to a stop over the last year.  The Household Survey graph shows that employment has been flat for the last year.

The question is whether we are going into several years of depressed employment growth like we had in 2001-2003, or whether the Fed’s rapid reduction in interest rates will restart the economy quickly.

You’d think, what with the mortgage meltdown, that it will take a while for demand to revive.  But the stock market today seems to take the employment news in its stride.

The bottom line is that nobody knows nuttin’.