Today's Collapsing Economy Post - Jobs DROP

Payrolls see first drop in 4-1/2 years,

Nervous employers cut 17,000 jobs in January — the first such reduction in more than four years and a fresh sign that the economy is in danger of stalling.

The unemployment rate declined a notch, from 5 percent in December to 4.9 percent in January. The jobless rate — calculated from a different statistical survey than the payroll figures — dipped as people, perhaps discouraged by their prospects, left the labor force for any number of reasons.

Spending on U.S. construction projects fell by 1.1% in December as outlays on private residential construction took another tumble, government data showed Friday.
The drop was bigger than expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch, who were looking for a decline of 0.5% in December.

Exxon Mobil Corp. on Friday posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company — $40.6 billion — as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from historic crude prices at year's end.

Exxon also set a U.S. record for the biggest quarterly profit, posting net income of $11.7 billion for the final three months of 2007, beating its own mark of $10.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Posted by Dave Johnson at February 1, 2008 7:20 AM Spotlight

Share this post:
Stumble It! Digg it del.icio.us reddit