World stocks drop as US jobless rate hits 7.2 pct

[babylonsister]

World stocks drop as US jobless rate hits 7.2 pct

By PAN PYLAS


LONDON – Stock markets dropped Friday as investors fretted over the outlook for the U.S. economy after an unexpectedly large increase in the unemployment rate and confirmation that more jobs were lost in 2008 than in any year since World War Two.

An early relief rally following the news that payrolls in the world's largest economy declined by a smaller than anticipated 524,000 in December soon dissipated as investors focused on the rise in the unemployment rate to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent from 6.8 percent in the previous month. Analysts had expected unemployment to hit 7 percent in December.

Investors were also spooked by the news that for all of 2008, the U.S. economy shed 2.6 million jobs — the most since 1945 when nearly 2.8 million were lost — even though the number of jobs in the U.S. has more than tripled since then.

"In the end, the decline in non-farm payrolls last month wasn't quite as bad as some in the markets had begun to fear," said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

"However, it was bad enough and, arguably more importantly, revisions to the declines in earlier months mean that the three-month average decline in payrolls still reached a 50-year record of more than 500,000," he added.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090109/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets;_ylt=AsT4bPNe8yloHEMS0OHiZlNvaA8F

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Economists know that the "official" unemployment rate is 2-3 times lower than reality.

[babylonsister]

2. ?? So you think there are less employed people than what we're

being told? No comprende.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Much higher rate.

The "official" rate does not count people who no longer get unemployment checks, people who lost part time jobs, and a variety of other "unofficial" job seekers.

Here is a good link to how the figures are fudged:

http://tinyurl.com/9hv9dy

[babylonsister]

4. Gotcha. Thanks. Makes sense, sadly. nt