Fortune 500 Shed Record 821, 000 Jobs In 2009

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Fortune 500 largest U.S. companies slashed a record 821,000 jobs last year, even as their collective profit soared more than three-fold to $391 billion, according to the business magazine, which issued the annual ranking on Thursday.

The companies suffered an 8.7 percent drop in 2009 sales as the recession, the sharpest decline since 1983, took its toll and spared few industries last year, but the cost cutting, including the job cuts, more than offset that.

"By mid-2009, companies were making fewer goods with far fewer workers. A pivotal turn began midyear. Sales bottomed, then began to rise gently, as headcounts continued falling," Fortune's editor-at-large Shawn Tully wrote in an article accompanying the ranking.

For a complete list of the Fortune 500, please see: www.fortune.com/500 The print issue with the ranking will be on news stands on Monday.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/04/15/news/news-us-fortune-fortune500.html?_r=1&ref=news

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Forty four percent of families in a recent poll had experienced a job loss, a reduction in hours, or a pay cut in the past year. Underemployment is 20.3% in march so an unemployment rate of 9% underestimates the problem. It is really bad out there.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/03/how-a-new-jobless-era-will-transform-america/7919/

http://www.gallup.com/poll/business.aspx

Obviously that is meant as an inside joke ;)

Except we need to have a poll to go with it.

Forty-four per cent of respondants said economic conditions are poor and 12% say they are excellent to good. I'm sure we have the excellent/good crowd out there somewhere ready to spread sunshine and blue sky.

http://www.gallup.com/Home.aspx