A Labor Department survey of 356 industries last month "showed that an increasingly broad array is cutting jobs. Not since the last recession have cutbacks been so widespread," stated an April 7 New York Times article.

The biggest job losses were in manufacturing, where 81,000 jobs were cut last month, and 451,000 since last June. Just since the beginning of the year 270,000 manufacturing jobs were eliminated. Also hard hit were the large number of temporary workers, 83,000 of whom lost jobs last month and 300,000 since last spring. In addition, largely due to a decline in overtime hours, one-fifth of all families said their income had recently fallen.

"Until last month," states the Times, "the suffering in manufacturing and temporary help had been more than offset by employment increases in retailing, wholesale trade, transportation, public utilities, engineering services, consulting and government. In March, however, retailers and wholesalers eliminated jobs. So did government. And the others added fewer jobs than usual."

Cisco Systems, the world's biggest networking equipment company, announced April 16 that because of sagging sales it was laying off 25 percent of its workforce. John Chambers, president of the company, blamed the economic slowdown in the United States for this move, as well as declining demand for their products in Australia and Asia, particularly Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.

March was only the second month since January 1996 that produced a net job loss. The Labor Department announced that jobless claims rose 9,000 in the first week in April to a five-year high of 392,000, up 46 percent from a year ago. "The unexpected increase suggests the jobless rate, which rose in March to 4.3 percent, from 4.2 percent, may be headed even higher," noted the Wall Street Journal.

The number of workers officially listed as unemployed by the government rose to 6.1 million last month. This figure does not include those whose unemployment benefits have expired or are working severely reduced hours. The unemployment rate for Blacks was 8.6 percent in March, double the overall figure.

The Eastman Kodak Company, the world's biggest maker of photography products, said it would be cutting up to 3,500 jobs or 4.5 percent of its workers.

Honeywell International, Inc. said it would cut 6,500 jobs after announcing its earnings dropped 18 percent in the first three months of 2000. In Europe, Philips Electronics, the continent's largest electronics manufacturer, announced plans to cut 6,000 to 7,000 jobs or about 3 percent of its workforce, after announcing a 91 percent drop in first quarter earnings.

Concerned about the slowing U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve April 18 reduced its interest rate on overnight loans between banks to 4.5 percent from 5 percent. It was the fourth half-point cut in rates by the central bank since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in eight years, according to a preliminary survey released by the University of Michigan in mid-April. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the nation's gross domestic product.

The U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter of 2000 at a 1 percent annual pace, the slowest rate in five-and-a-half years, and profits fell for the first time since 1998, according to Commerce Department figures.

"A slower buildup in inventories, a decline in auto production and weaker consumer spending led to the slowdown," stated Bloomberg News. "Business spending on software and equipment fell for the first time in almost 10 years."

The business news service also estimated that growth in the first quarter of 2001 probably slowed to a 0.7 percent rate. This would place growth over the past two quarters at the slowest rate since the 0.1 percent pace in the first half of 1991.

According to the Institute of International Finance, a research group affiliated with the world's largest financial institutions, "the global economy appears to be in the most precarious position it has seen since the 1973–74 oil crisis, as bad news in industrialized countries feeds bad news in the developing world," reports an April 18 Wall Street Journal article.

The economic slowdown in the United States will have an even bigger impact on semicolonial countries.

The Journal reports that exports from Asian and Pacific countries will grow just 5 percent this year, after jumping 23 percent in 2000. Latin America's sales abroad will increase only 7 percent this year, down from 22 percent growth last year.  
 
 
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