HARRISBURG, PA (Jan. 23, 2009) -- While the United States has now been in recession for a year, most of the job losses nationally and in Pennsylvania occurred in just the last three months of 2008. Early figures on unemployment claims for the first part of January are also unsettling. These are clear indicators that the economy's downward spiral is accelerating rapidly and that policymakers in Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg need to step up their efforts to stimulate the economy.

Pennsylvania lost 59,100 jobs in just the last quarter of 2008, compared to 76,000 jobs in the entire 12-month period since the recession began, according to figures released Friday.

In percentage terms, the biggest losses over the year as a whole have been in construction (-5%), which shed 13,100 jobs, manufacturing (-4.7%), which shed 30,800 jobs, and retail trade (3.4%), which shed 22,300 jobs. All three sectors have been losing jobs as home sales have declined and consumers have cut back on purchases of cars and other consumer goods. Signs of weakness in residential construction in 2007 had spread by 2008 to non-residential construction. Job losses in manufacturing were widespread, hitting everything from metals to food to plastics. In retail, the biggest percentage declines were among clothing and department stores, automobile and auto parts dealers, and electronics retailers.

In December alone, employment in professional and business services dipped by nearly 11,000. Most of these jobs were in administrative support, temporary employment services and building services, evidence of businesses trying to preserve cash by cutting services provided by outside contractors and employees.

The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania rose by half a percentage point to 6.7 percent in December.

Also on Thursday, the U.S. Employment and Training Administration (ETA) released data on new claims for unemployment insurance in Pennsylvania for the first full week in January. New claims increased over the previous week by just under 14,000, a rise of 30%, bringing the number of new claims in the week ended Jan. 10 to 59,669.

In the first two weeks ending in January, new claims increased over new claims in all of January 2007 by 61%. If this pace holds up through the rest of January, initial claims are on track for the largest year-over-year gain in all the years for which ETA reports this data (i.e., since 1988).

With new claims data surging so far in January, the release of January's employment situation looks to be another grim report.

With all signs pointing to a worsening employment situation in Pennsylvania, it is critical that Congress and the President quickly pass an economic stimulus package that delivers aid to state and local governments, expands spending on infrastructure, and provides aid to the growing body of "Main Street" Pennsylvania workers who have lost their jobs due to the crisis that began on Wall Street. With Governor Ed Rendell's state budget address coming up in less than two weeks, state lawmakers need to redouble their efforts to craft state policies that can help kick-start Pennsylvania's economy.