533,000 Jobs Lost In November: Biggest Decline In 34 Years

November’s unemployment numbers are in, and it’s a doozy. Last month alone, over 533,000 jobs were lost bringing the year’s total to an astounding 1.9 million jobs. When is the last time so many jobs were lost in a single month? December 1974, according to CNN Money. According to Keith Hall, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was

“maybe one of the worst job reports…ever produced.”

If the normally-tranquil BLS is worried, what does that mean for the rest of us? My job prospects are seem to be getting dimmer and dimmer by the day.

Unemployment In The Danger Zone

The official unemployment rate jumped from 6.5% to 6.7% with November’s job report, the highest rate since October 1993. Even during the depths of the tech bust, unemployment didn’t reach this level and most of those jobs were high-paying white collar tech jobs peripheral to the overall U.S. economy. Today’s jobs losses, however, cut to the very core of America’s work force and are no longer relegated to the troubled real estate and financial industries.

Have We Hit Rock Bottom?

Unfortunately, it looks like we haven’t even seen the worst of it yet. I’m optimistic of a moderate recovery beginning next summer, but even that is iffy. Temporary employment also fell last month. Since companies usually cut temporary workers before full-time workers, it could be a sign of more layoffs to come.

A Few Bright Spots

There are a few bright spots among all the doom and gloom. Government hiring has remained robust, as might be expected. Additionally, hiring in health services and the education sectors also remained strong, but these are small fish in a big pond. It looks like things will definitely get worse before they get better. I would strongly recommend everybody cut back and beef up their emergency fund just in case. We’re in for a rough 2009.