US housing and auto layoffs expected to be high
Hospitals, schools and the assembly line at an airplane factory look like pretty good places to be with a recession looming and unemployment rising in America. Construction workers, real estate agents and auto workers are not expected to fare as w...
By Agencies |
WASHINGTON: Hospitals, schools and the assembly line at an airplane factory look like pretty good places to be with a recession looming and unemployment rising in America. Construction workers, real estate agents and auto workers are not expected to fare as well.
The startling news that the US economy lost 80,000 jobs last month and nearly a quarter-million over the last three months is the starkest signal yet that the country has probably fallen into a recession, with things on the job front expected to get worse.
"All the indicators suggest that we will see even larger job declines in coming months. Businesses are getting nervous and pulling back," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.
While the downturn is expected to be short and mild, economists are still forecasting the unemployment rate, which jumped to 5.1 per cent in March, will climb much higher before America's job engine sputters back to life.
Economists are forecasting a jobless rate that will peak at around 6 per cent, but probably not until early next year, several months after the recession is expected to end. Analysts said as many as 2 million people could lose their jobs in the current downturn.
In an environment of a sluggish economy and rising unemployment, analysts said there will be some safe harbors where job demand will keep growing. First and foremost in this group will be health care, where the demographics of an aging population mean the demands for medical care will keep rising.
The startling news that the US economy lost 80,000 jobs last month and nearly a quarter-million over the last three months is the starkest signal yet that the country has probably fallen into a recession, with things on the job front expected to get worse.
"All the indicators suggest that we will see even larger job declines in coming months. Businesses are getting nervous and pulling back," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.
While the downturn is expected to be short and mild, economists are still forecasting the unemployment rate, which jumped to 5.1 per cent in March, will climb much higher before America's job engine sputters back to life.
Economists are forecasting a jobless rate that will peak at around 6 per cent, but probably not until early next year, several months after the recession is expected to end. Analysts said as many as 2 million people could lose their jobs in the current downturn.
In an environment of a sluggish economy and rising unemployment, analysts said there will be some safe harbors where job demand will keep growing. First and foremost in this group will be health care, where the demographics of an aging population mean the demands for medical care will keep rising.
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