US Job Loss figures rise to highest numbers in 35 years – China hit by drought
US economic numbers seem even bleaker on the latest jobs announcements from the US Labor Department. Unemployment figures show a rise to 7.6 per cent across the board. But the numbers most analyst are watching is not just the numbers of jobs lost but also the number of Job salaries that have been reduced to just within rates restricted by law in the wake of a declining and recessed economy.
Meaning less income, less purchases of consumer goods, and more important in focus a cross the board reduction that may hit wages also in the USA’s services economy covering a reduction in real income that goes back to levels not seen since about thirty five years ago.
“ Unemployment rate jumped to 7.6%, and non farm payrolls fell by the largest amount in 35 years, ” the Labor Department report went on to say that these conditions have not happened in recent memory since 1974. All told for January nearly six hundred thousand Americans lost their jobs.
In total the US Department of Labor shows a figure of 598,000 that’s for January, traditionally, however jobs reduction numbers do increase at the start of a new year as the retail sector losses numbers in the retail labor force as well as sales and marketing. Yet, the figures show overall that numbers have risen beyond the norm of about a 2.2 to 2.7 per cent seasonal reduction in some sectors.
The latest other numbers below offer a bleak picture on statistics and growth indicators as much of the overall impact of past stimulus packages and new ones have yet to be felt
Meanwhile on the heels of the story I wrote on the increased number of rural Chinese workers facing tough economic times with over 25 million jobs lost in the wake of the closure of thousands of factories in China’s industrial areas.
There is more bleak news in the rural regions of China with news of a drought in progress that can increase the number of discontented in the countryside of the worlds most populated country.
Agriculture it was hope might be able to absorb the large influx of workers lost to factories. But if lower crop production brought on by drought in nine of China’s major agricultural areas hits food supply the concerns of many will be how China can rebound if poverty figures rise. Here’s the report below:
The Chinese government has declared an emergency in eight of its northern and central regions hit by drought. Nearly four million people are suffering water shortages, and about half of China’s winter crops are threatened.
President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao have allocated 58 million US dollars to help tackle the drought. China experiences yearly droughts and floods but has seen a recent increase in extreme weather conditions.
One of the affected areas in Henan has reportedly had 105 consecutive days without rainfall – its worst recorded drought since 1951. The Chinese authorities say the current drought is expected to continue as no rain has been forecast in the affected areas for at least 10 days.
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