WASHINGTON (AP) -- Recession-battered employers eliminated 598,000 jobs in January, the most since the end of 1974, and catapulted the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent. The grim figures were further proof that the nation's job climate is deteriorating at an alarming clip with no end in sight.
The Labor Department's report, released Friday, showed the terrible toll the drawn-out recession is having on workers and companies. It also puts even more pressure on Congress and President Barack Obama's administration to revive the economy through a stimulus package and a revamped financial bailout plan, both of which are nearing completion.
Many economists said job losses for February are likely to be just as bad, and they don't expect the labor market to return to decent health until 2011 at the earliest.
For January, the net total of job losses was far worse the biggest annual loss on record and was worse than the 2.6 million initially estimated last month.
In Virginia in December, the jobless rate rose to 5.2%. In Hampton Roads, like the rest of the country, people without a job say it's hard to find employment.
Scott Furlough, an art director and graphic designer, was laid off after 12 years on the job for Auto Trader. He's been searching for six months.
"I spoke to someone yesterday and had a phone interview. She said they had 200-plus applications coming in for one job," he said.
While he's spending more time with his children, he says it's hard not helping out money-wise.
"I get upset sometimes when I see my wife being the provider and I can't bring a source of income like I was before," he admitted.
An economist with the Virginia Employment Commission predicts the commission will need help to pay benefits by 2010, if the jobless rate averages 6.2% this year.
