Will the U.S. Lose More Jobs in 2009?

The U.S. unemployment rate is now 7.2%, according to statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, yesterday. Additionally, it has been reported that the U.S. economy lost 2.6 millions jobs in 2008, its highest number since 1945. Given the current economic turmoil, can we expect a similar unemployment rate throughout 2009?

A Higher Unemployment Rate is Possible

The U.S. economy is currently in intensive care. However, we do expect it to recover. The question is how bad will the economy perform in 2009 before it gets better? Unfortunately, none of us have a crystal ball to provide that answer. But given our daily dose of bad economic news, there are few reasons to be bullish on the U.S. economy. As a result, no one should be surprised if the unemployment rate reaches 10% in 2009.

The Fear of Leaving Your Current Employer

Most people are afraid to take another job offer at another company, even if the potential job offers more money. You may not like your current job, but why take a chance by working somewhere else, especially if you assume your employer is financially stable? Hopefully, you do have job security; however, many of the Americans who lost their jobs in 2008 did not expect it, until an announcement was made in the newspaper or on the news.

Is There Any Hope for the Job Market in 2009?

In ten days, the Obama Administration will run this country. And President-elect Obama has promised government intervention to help save Corporate America and private citizens, for this country has not seen this type of economic despair since the days of President Franklin Roosevelt.

But if President-elect Obama is able to push his job initiatives through Congress, early in 2009, then may be the unemployment rate will be stabilized, since the U.S. government will hopefully create more jobs, this year, than the number of jobs that will be lost.