According to the Labor Department, the U.S. unemployment rate climbed from 8.1 percent to 8.5 percent in March. There are now 13.2 million unemployed workers, the highest figure since recording began in 1948.
In March, employers cut approximately 663,000 jobs. The figures for January 2009 were adjusted to 741,000 jobs lost, the highest number of monthly layoffs since October 1949.
These statistics exclude those who are not “actively seeking employment” and those who are relegated to part-time work. The actual jobless figure is estimated at approximately 17 percent.
Over 5.l million jobs have been lost since December 2007. Of these, 3.3 million were lost in the past five months. The numbers do not lie: $11.5 trillion in bailout money to Wall Street has done nothing to stem an epidemic of layoffs—job cuts that have been orchestrated by the same corporate class that has been bailed out by the government.
