Economy Lost 63,000 Jobs in February

The economy shed 63,000 jobs in February, the government said on Friday, the fastest falloff in five years and the strongest evidence yet that the nation is headed toward — or may already be in — a recession.
Manufacturers and construction companies, reeling from the worst housing slump in decades, led the declines in payrolls. But the losses were spread across a broad range of businesses — including department stores, offices and retail outlets — putting increased pressure on consumers' pocketbooks.

The unexpected decline raised anticipation on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates again later this month, perhaps by as much as a full percentage point, as the central bank scrambles to stave off a steep economic slowdown.
"I haven't seen a job report this recessionary since the last recession," said Jared Bernstein, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. "This is a picture of a labor market becoming clearly infected by the contagion from the rest of the economy."
Stock markets dropped after the opening bell, then recovered before heading down again as Wall Street weighed the economic news. The Dow Jones industrials closed down 146.70 points, or 1.2 percent, at 11,893.69.
Before the jobs report was released, the Fed announced that it would increase the amount of money it makes available to banks in a larger effort to unlock a panic in the credit market. As part of the plan, the Fed will release $100 billion in through a series of auctions intended to make it easier for banks to borrow money from the government.
But the focus on Friday was squarely on the jobs report, which revealed widespread cracks in the nation's labor market.
The private sector lost 101,000 jobs last month, the biggest dropoff in five years. Retail stores shed 34,000 jobs, while the manufacturing sector lost 52,000 workers and construction firm payrolls shrank by 39,000 jobs.