Latest jobless numbers could bring total to 1.3 million

Inquirer staff writer Diane Mastrull writes:

Brace for more bad news.

The U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to release employment data for November today. Economists are forecasting job loss totals of at least 300,000, which would be up from 240,000 reported for October.

That would bring the total jobs shed since December to more than 1.3 million in an economic crisis that began in the banking and housing sector and has left virtually every industry struggling.

Yesterday, the Labor Department said new claims for jobless benefits were down last week, but that the number of people claiming benefits — 4,087,000 — was a 26-year high.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.