Yes Irene, it is a recession…let the good times roll…

As the presidential election season nears its climax, there is growing evidence that the country is slipping into the deepest recession in decades.

The latest marker came Friday, when the government reported that employers shed 159,000 jobs in September, far more than expected. That was the worst one-month drop in more than five years and brings to 760,000 the number of jobs that have disappeared this year.

Economists say the accelerating pace of job losses, combined with the most severe credit crisis since the Great Depression, make it increasingly likely that the government bureau that determines business cycles will eventually stamp “recession” on this one.

“This should remove any lingering doubts that the economy is in a recession,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “The rate of job loss is accelerating and the unemployment rate is virtually certain to cross 7% early in 2009.”
August was when the unemployment rate jumped from 5.7% to 6.1%. That rate, calculated using a survey different from the one used to determine job losses, was unchanged at 6.1% in September. Economists took little comfort in that, however, pointing out that the jobless rate doesn’t count people who have given up looking for work, nor those who have had to settle for part-time work.

“Factoring in discouraged workers, unemployment is closer to 7.9%,” said University of Maryland economist Peter Morici. But this is not the figure that “they” want you to know.

But wait the good news is that is all unimportant because the $700 million bailout will create jobs and all will be alright. Really? And I have a bridge for sale.