The economy lost 524,000 jobs in December, bringing 2008's total job loss to just below 2.6 million. The annual loss is the biggest since the end of World War II. Payrolls shrink by 524,000 in December, and unemployment rate rises to 7.2%. According to the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, the unemployment rate rose to 7.2% last month from 6.7% in November and higher than economists' forecasts of 7%.
The vast majority - 1.9 million - of last year's job losses came in the final four months of 2008, after the credit crisis began in September. November's job loss was revised up to 584,000 from 533,000, and October was revised up by 103,000 to 423,000.
Job losses were spread across a wide variety of industries. Manufacturing lost 149,000 jobs, the leisure and hospitality industries cut 22,000 jobs, and construction employment shrank further by 101,000 jobs. Even in the midst of the holiday shopping season, retailers still slashed payrolls by 66,600 workers last month.
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