THE LATEST: Employers slashed 159,000 jobs in September, the most in more than five years and the ninth month in a row of nationwide job losses. So far this year, the economy has lost a staggering 760,000 jobs.
WHAT IT MEANS: With jobs harder to come by and the growth in workers' wages slowing, consumers are expected to hunker down further, spelling even more problems for the troubled economy.
THE OUTLOOK: More pain ahead — even with Congress' unprecedented $700 billion financial bailout. The unemployment rate — now at 6.1 percent — probably will climb higher and employers are expected to keep cutting jobs in the months ahead. The economy may have stalled already — or actually slid into reverse — in the just-ended third quarter. |