Huge Non-Farm Payroll Cuts Cause U.S. Labor Secretary To Issue Call For Rescue Plan

October 3, 2008 12:01 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao said Friday that the poor September employment numbers showing 159,000 Americans lost their jobs last month is all the more reason for Congress to pass an economic rescue plan.

It was the worst drop in non-farm payroll since March 2003.

The drop in payroll jobs was broad-based across the economy, including manufacturing, construction and many service industries, according to the Labor Department Friday. Its figures are calculated from a survey of businesses.

Reacting to the employment figures, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao called for action.

"Today's employment report provides further evidence of the need for the House of Representatives to pass an economic rescue package today, before it adjourns, which will protect Main Street America and mitigate further job loss," Elaine L. Chao said in a statement.

House of Representative lawmakers are expected to vote at midday Friday on the $700 billion federal bailout plan of Wall Street, which Senate lawmakers passed Wednesday by a vote of 74 to 25.

The nation's unemployment rate is calculated using a separate survey of households. It stood unchanged at a five-year high of 6.1 percent after rising a lot in previous months. That survey shows that unemployment rose by 101,000 while employment fell by 222,000.

With 70 percent of the nations gross domestic product fueled by consumer spending, the latest employment and unemployment figures reveal that consumers are not in any position to spend the economy out of its growing slump.