The nation's unemployment rate climbed to a level not seen since 1994 as employers cut 240,000 more jobs last month, signaling that the economy is heading into further distress.
The jobless rate rose to 6.5 percent from September's 6.1 percent, the Labor Department said yesterday. And many economists warn of more job losses and grim economic conditions, portending a protracted recession.
"The question is: How deep and how long?" said Robert Dye, a senior economist with PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh.
"If you look at the economic data that I've been seeing for the last month or two, in my career as an economist, it ranks as the worst months for economic data that I've seen in about 20 years."
President-elect Barack Obama called on Congress yesterday to extend unemployment benefits and pass another economic stimulus bill before or just after he takes office.
Even in Maryland, which has held up better than the country overall, the unemployment rate has been steadily rising - from 3.5 percent in January to 4.6 percent in September, the most recent figure.
The state is seeing the impact of the financial sector's meltdown, credit problems and plunging consumer spending.
Legg Mason Inc., the Baltimore money management giant, began what is expected to be a broader set of job cuts last week by cutting a third of the 147 employees at its Legg Mason Capital Management unit.
Boscov's is closing all three of its mall-anchor department stores in the Baltimore area as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, eliminating 394 jobs.
Circuit City is closing 20 percent of its more than 700 stores, including three in Maryland, and consumer-electronics chain Tweeter filed for bankruptcy protection and is closing its stores, including seven here.
Automaker Chrysler is shutting its Newark, Del., sport utility vehicle plant earlier than planned; the job losses include 250 people who live across the border in Cecil County.
Weathering the storm
Still, some experts believe Maryland could weather the economic turmoil better than other states because of its proximity to Washington and the region's health care and education labor base.
"We're very concerned about where we are and where the country is right now," said David W. Edgerley, secretary of the state Department of Business and Economic Development.
"We have to be pleased with the way Maryland is weathering the storm and the way we think we'll come out of the storm earlier than most states."
