Jobs Data Suggest U.S. Is in Recession; Largest Payroll Fall In Five Years Spurs New Stimulus Talk
U.S. employers shed 63,000 jobs last month, the most in five years, reinforcing a widening view that the U.S. is falling into recession. Among economists and politicians, the debate is shifting to how deep the downturn will be and how to ease it.</br></br>The jobs dropoff came after the nation lost 22,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department said. In the past, such back-to-back monthly employment declines have occurred only around recessions.</br></br>Coming amid continued turmoil in the financial and credit markets, the report sent stocks lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 146.70 points Friday to close at 11,893.69. The index lost 3% for the full week.</br></br>The big financial news of the day was that Thornburg Mortgage Inc., which has big holdings of mortgage-backed securities, warned it is at risk of going under. Carlyle Capital Corp., an Amsterdam-listed investment fund affiliated with private-equity giant Carlyle Group, reported a new wave of demands by lenders to put up more collateral.</br></br>Easing the worries slightly, the Federal Reserve said it is stepping up efforts to restore credit markets to health by injecting cash into money markets and making larger direct loans to banks.