The unemployment rate rose to 8.6% for the month of January, as compared to 8.5% for the month of December. However, the 8.6% is down from 9.9% for January 2011 and 10.9% for January 2010.
Job cuts also soared for the month of January as well, as 53,486 jobs were lost in January 2012. That’s a 28% increase in the number of jobs lost in December 2011, and a huge 39% increase in the number of jobs lost from January 2011 (a year ago).
January is historically the month where most jobs are lost. Reasons for the overall job losses this past month include restructurings, store closures, and other cost-cutting measures. Retailers cut the most jobs, which did not even include job losses for seasonal workers.
For the full article, click here