Soaring Job Losses May Signal Deepening Recession

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• JIM LEHRER:

  Ray Suarez has our jobs story.

• RAY SUAREZ:

  Today's job report provided the strongest signs yet of a powerful recession: 500,000 jobs lost in November; 1.2 million lost in the last three months alone.

  News of the rising unemployment rate, heading towards 7 percent, came amid a steady drumbeat of bad business news. Foreclosures numbers are up again. Nearly 1 in 10 Americans is now at least a month behind or facing foreclosure. And November retail sales were anemic at nearly every level, dropping nearly 3 percent.

• CONGRESSWOMAN:

  U.S. workers have lost all the ground they gained over the 2000s recovery.

• RAY SUAREZ:

  Today, in his monthly testimony before Congress, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics used blunt language to describe the latest report. Commissioner Keith Hall.

  KEITH HALL, Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics: Well, first, I've got to admit, if I were to characterize this jobs report, I would say this is a dismal jobs report. There's very little in this report that's positive. This is maybe one of the worst jobs reports that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has ever produced.

  REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), Maryland: Ever?

• KEITH HALL:

  Yes.

• REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS:

  And how long has the bureau been around?

• KEITH HALL:

  A hundred and twenty-four years.

• REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS:

  A hundred and twenty-four years.

• RAY SUAREZ:

  And it was the magnitude of those jobs losses that served as the backdrop for day two of Capitol Hill hearings on Detroit automakers' call for help. Barney Frank is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

  REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), Massachusetts: For us to do nothing, to allow bankruptcies and failures in one, two, or three of these companies in the midst of the worst credit crisis and the worst unemployment situation that we've had in 70 years would be a disaster.

• RAY SUAREZ:

  In fact, just prior to the hearing, G.M. announced its latest round of layoffs: 2,000 jobs in three states. That brings the total number of G.M. factory layoffs this year alone to 11,000.

  G.M., Ford, and Chrysler are asking for at least $34 billion to stay afloat. Bob Nardelli is Chrysler's CEO. He reiterated the need for assistance.

• ROBERT NARDELLI, CEO, Chrysler:

  … that I recognize that this is a significant amount of public money. However, we believe this is the least costly alternative, considering the depth of economic crisis and options we face.

• RAY SUAREZ:

  Democrat Al Green of Texas agreed.

  REP. AL GREEN (D), Texas: Can we afford to put more than 2 million people out of work? What will happen to them if this crisis continues to exacerbate to the extent that we lose the big three?

  They will have to have some sort of unemployment compensation. They will have to have some sort of medical benefits. They will have to have some sort of pension program that is already in place to be cultivated and to be continued.

  This is about the American economy. If we don't focus on the American economy, we'll lose our way.

• RAY SUAREZ:

  Representative Gresham Barrett represents South Carolina, a state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. He said he recognized the severity of the recession, but that didn't necessarily mean Congress should help the automakers.

  REP. GRESHAM BARRETT (R), South Carolina: But as we sit here, countless and thousands of people across this country are watching this hearing, losing their jobs.

  I know these are tough times, but the discussions we are having here doesn't make sense to me.

  I'm concerned that businesses are rightly going to start thinking they can just come to Uncle Sam, and we'll bail them out. And we're broke, flat broke.

• RAY SUAREZ:

  United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger acknowledged it was going to get worse, but said there is an immediate need for federal money.

• RON GETTELFINGER, United Auto Workers President:

  And there's going to be, unfortunately, losses. There's going to be facilities closed down; we understand that. We're going to lose dealerships; we know that. And we're going to lose suppliers.

  But what is the end result if we do nothing? That's the question. And as hard as it is to have to say that, that is reality. We can't sugarcoat it. We can't stick our head in the sand. It's what it is.