Jobs & Money Detail
Record mass layoffs across US in February
The employment situation feels bleak for many in the UK, but the US workforce may be in an even worse situation. Recently released figures show employers made 2,769 mass layoff actions in February that resulted in 295,477 workers losing their job.
Each mass layoff involved at least 50 people being made redundant from a single employer.
The worst-hit industry was the manufacturing sector, with 1,235 mass layoff events reported, resulting in 152,618 initial claims for unemployment benefit. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 497, and initial claims increased by 50,041.
During the 15 months from December 2007 (the start of a recession) through to February 2009, the total number of mass layoff events was 28,481, and the number of initial claims was 2,927,813. The national unemployment rate was 8.1 per cent in February, up from 7.6 per cent the prior month and from 4.8 per cent a year earlier.
Of the four census regions, the West registered the highest number of initial claims in February due to mass layoffs (65,792), followed by the Midwest (64,973), the South (55,542), and the Northeast (32,131). Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia registered over-the-year increases in average weekly initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by California (4,840), Illinois (3,598), and Wisconsin (1,878). Louisiana and Mississippi were the only states to experience over-the-year decreases in average weekly initial claims due to mass layoffs.
However, though the manufacturing industry has been hit hard, the skilled professions that earn people visas to America are likely to still need people with specialist abilities even in a recession. So emigration dreams aren't necessarily quashed by the global 'tightening of purse strings'.
Moreover, the optimism of President Barack Obama is infectious, and despite the high US unemployment rate there is reason for Americans to believe that their leader is equipped to steer the US economic ship through the rough waters. As Obama has said himself: "Four years from now, I think, hopefully, people will say: 'This is a big ocean liner. It's not a speedboat. It doesn't turn around immediately. But we're in a better place because of the decisions that we made'."
The latest bold move from America's charismatic leader is his draft $3.6 trillion (£2.5 trillion) budget, which will be tested in Congress this week. It is hoped this will build a stronger US economy and prevent America from facing a repeat crisis ten or 20 years down the line.
The May 2009 issue of Emigrate magazine - out on 23rd April - will feature a story on the top five most popular US visas with Brits.