It’s Not Just the Financial Crisis While the world awoke to the financial crisis in September and October of 2008, those in touch with the U.S. employment situation have been watching a recession-level labor market contraction for months. The U.S. economy has been shedding jobs for more than eight months with no indication of an imminent employment recovery.  In early December 2008, The Conference Board was forecasting that the U.S. unemployment rate would hit 7.6 percent by the end of 2009, and The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index™ (which is a very effective leading indicator of employment) continues to drop, forecasting further weakening.


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