The January unemployment numbers, released today by the Labor Department, revealed that the “green shoots” have now withered and died. Economists had expected January to show a slight increase in jobs of about 5,000; however, the number reported this morning shows a loss of 20,000 jobs.
With revisions to its annual numbers, the Labor Department also reported total job losses since the recession began to be 8.4 million. And while the unemployment rate dropped to 9.7%, there appear to be few signs that the recovery has actually begun.
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