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BBC News
Friday, 9 January 2009 at 21:20 GMT
More US workers lost jobs last year than in any year since World War II, with employers axing 2.6 MILLION posts and 524,000 in December alone.
The US jobless rate rose to 7.2% in December, the highest in 16 years.
The official data came as plane-maker Boeing said it would cut 4,500 jobs this year at its commercial airline arm due to the global economic slowdown.
US President-elect Barack Obama said that the economic situation is dire and action is urgently needed.
November's job losses were revised to 584,000 from 533,000 while October's losses were revised to 423,000 from 320,000.
Anthony Conroy, head trader at Bny Convergex, said: "Well, the numbers look better than I think many were anticipating. I had heard anywhere from 500,000 to about a MILLION, so it's definitely better than anticipated."
"No matter how you look at it, these are dismal numbers," said Matt Esteve, foreign exchange trader at Tempus Consulting.
Added Richard Yamarone, chief economist of Argus Research: "The job situation is ugly and is going to get uglier. There's no reason to expect hiring anytime in the next three to six months. We are not going to see any hiring until the government steps in and acts."
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