Employment Takes Sharp Hit in February

Washington, DC, March 7, 2008--Employers cut 63,000 jobs in February, the most in five years and far higher than economists expected, according to the Labor Department.

However, the report also showed that the unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent as hundreds of thousands of people left the labor force.

Construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and a variety of professional and business services jobs took the brunt of the losses, which more than offset gains in education, healthcare and other areas.

Economists were expecting a boost in jobs by about 25,000.

Reacting to economic circumstances, the Federal Reserve announced Friday steps to inject cash into the nation's financial system to keep banks lending.

The Fed will increase the amount of loans it will auction to banks on March 10 and March 24 to $50 billion each, up from the $30 billion apiece originally planned.