The US job market weakened further in December as factories continued to lay off workers and department and toy stores kept their staffs lean over the holidays, the government said today.
But although layoffs mounted and the jobless rate neared 6 per cent, the pace of job losses slowed compared to the initial few months after the September 11th attacks, which badly shook confidence in the economy and prompted a surge in layoffs.
The number of workers on US payrolls outside the farm sector fell a seasonally adjusted 124,000 in December after a 371,000 drop in November. The November figure was originally reported as a slightly milder 331,000 jobs decline.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.8 per cent from 5.6 per cent in November. The November jobless rate was originally reported as 5.7 per cent.
Some economists, who noted signs the recession that began in March may be giving way to a recovery, were heartened that the furious pace of layoffs seen a few months ago was abating.