Transcripts

The Senate Steps Up Efforts To Pass A Stimulus Plan

SUSIE GHARIB: There is growing pressure on Capitol Hill tonight for the U.S. Senate to pass President Obama's economic stimulus plan. Lawmakers have been huddled together all day, wrangling over the price and terms of the plan which are different than the version passed by the House. It looks like there could be a compromise on the plan to have a $780 billion price tag sharply lower than what the Senate had been considering. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is scrambling to bring the stimulus plan to a vote by the full Senate as soon as this evening. Why the renewed urgency? Alarming news today about the job market. American businesses cut nearly 600,000 jobs in January, the biggest monthly decline in 35 years. The job losses spanned all industries and pushed the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent, a level not seen since 1992. Economists expect more Americans will lose their jobs in the months ahead and warn the Obama stimulus plan may not be the cure-all for the labor market. Erika Miller reports.

ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The latest employment snapshot shows the terrible toll the recession is having on workers and businesses. A staggering 3.5 million jobs have vanished in just over a year, with roughly half the losses occurring in the last three months alone. President Obama says that's 3.5 million Americans who need help.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These numbers demand action. It is inexcusable and irresponsible for any of us to get bogged down in distraction, delay or politics as usual while millions of Americans are being put out of work.

MILLER: The president says his economic recovery plan would create up to four million jobs over the next two years. But even if a plan is passed swiftly, economist Kevin Logan thinks there will still be a loss of at least 2.5 million jobs this year.

KEVIN LOGAN, SR. MARKET ECONOMIST, DRESDNER KLEINWORT: The economy is in a very strong downward spiral right now. And blunting that effect -- holding the economy up in place -- is perhaps the most we can expect from a fiscal program. But if we don't have it, then we can anticipate even worse effects on the economy as the year goes on.

MILLER: Without a plan, economists forecast a loss of six million jobs or more and an unemployment rate above 11 percent. Economist Ethan Harris warns it will be a very long time before we're back to full employment, where almost everyone who wants a job has one.

ETHAN HARRIS, CO-CHIEF US ECONOMIST, BARCLAYS CAPITAL: We've got a long workout process ahead here for the economy. Stopping the recession is just the beginning. Then the Fed and the government have to get growth going and get the unemployment rate back down again. That's a multi-year process. I don't see a full recovery in the labor market for at least the next two or three years.

MILLER: The one thing analysts cannot easily predict is the psychological impact of a stimulus program. They say that if a plan is passed, consumer confidence could start to improve immediately and Americans could be back in spending mode by the end of the year. Erika Miller, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.