Economy News

George Williams uses a phone in the resource center at Pennsylvania Career Link in Harrisburg, Pa., Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. WIlliams is looking for work. Jobs are vanishing at the fastest pace in more than five years with pink slips likely to keep stacking higher in the months ahead, an urgent signal the country may be careening toward a deep and painful recession just as Americans prepare to elect a new president. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Economy sheds most jobs since 2003, more cuts seen

AP - Sat Oct 4, 12:06 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Jobs are vanishing at the fastest pace in more than five years with pink slips likely to keep stacking higher in the months ahead, an urgent signal the country may be careening toward a deep and painful recession just as Americans prepare to elect a new president.

  • Payrolls drop by most in 5 years; more pain ahead AP - Fri Oct 3, 3:21 PM ET

    THE LATEST: Employers slashed 159,000 jobs in September, the most in more than five years and the ninth month in a row of nationwide job losses. So far this year, the economy has lost a staggering 760,000 jobs.

  • The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner sits on the assembly line at the company's Everett, Washington plant, May 19, 2008. (Robert Sorbo/Reuters)
    Factory orders drop by 4 percent in August AP - Thu Oct 2, 10:38 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Orders to U.S. factories plunged by the largest amount in nearly two years in August as the credit strains began to hit manufacturing with full force.

  • Jobless claims pushed to 7-year high AP - Thu Sep 25, 10:23 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to their highest level in seven years due to the impact of a slowing economy and Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

  • Chart shows new orders of durable goods for the past 13 months;
    Durable goods orders drop 4.5 percent in August AP - Thu Sep 25, 9:15 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in August by the largest amount in seven months as demand for both airplanes and autos fell sharply.

  • Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, speaks to the National Association for Business Economics, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008, in Washington. Bernanke warned that the financial crisis has not only darkened the country's current economic performance but also could prolong the pain. 'The outlook for economic growth has worsened,' Bernanke said. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
    Banks, Wall Street firms borrow more from Fed AP - Thu Sep 18, 4:47 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Banks and Wall Street firms ramped up borrowing from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facility over the past week, a fresh sign of the credit stresses plaguing the country.

  • In this July 15, 2008 file photo, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, to report on the economy before the Senate Banking Committee. Tighten your seat belt. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are preparing to ride out economic and financial storms by holding their most important interest rate steady this week and probably through the rest of this year. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
    Fed leaves key rate unchanged AP - Tue Sep 16, 3:39 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve kept a key interest rate unchanged Tuesday, saying that strains in financial markets have "increased significantly" but that it would keep an eye on them and act, if needed.