Area Development
Employers in the United States cut 63,000 jobs in February, the most in five years, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor. The majority of those jobs were in manufacturing, with 52,000 jobs lost, bringing the total losses for manufacturing to 299,000 since February 2006. Individual sectors with the heaviest number of jobs lost were motor vehicles and parts, down 13,000; furniture and related products, down 6,000; and wood products, down 5,000. Gains came in the healthcare and leisure/hospitality industries and in government services. Economic analysts had predicted an increase of 25,000 jobs in February, and many are calling the job losses the clearest sign yet that the U.S economy has fallen into recession.