Over 21 lakh jobs lost in US since Dec 2007

More than 21 lakh individuals have become jobless in the US ever since the world's largest economy entered into recession last December, with more number of employers resorting to mass layoff actions.

The number of such layoffs -- where 50 or more people are handed pink slips by a single employer -- touched 20,712 in the last eleven months.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in a statement said, "From the start of the recession in December 2007 through November 2008, the total number of mass layoff events was 20,712, and the number of initial (jobless) claims was 21,08,743." The number of job losses due to mass layoff actions stood at 1,41,750 in December last year.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau for Economic Research, which dates the nation's economic cycles, has said that America officially entered into recession in December 2007.

In the wake of the worsening financial turmoil, companies worldwide are cutting jobs to cut down costs. So far in December, companies across the world have announced more than 1.20 lakh job cuts.

More than one-third of the layoffs happened in America, where unemployment touched a record high of 6.7 per cent.

Reflecting the worsening labor market scenario, the data showed that the number of mass layoff actions rose to 2,328 last month whereas the same stood at 2,140 in October.

In terms of job losses, the November figures reached 2,24,079, slightly lower than 2,32,468 in the same period a month ago.

"The number of mass layoff events in November increased by 188 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by 8,389," data available with the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.