American Employers Slashed 63,000 Jobs In Feb, The Most In Five Years
Washington: President George Bush acknowledged, "our economy has slowed" as American employers slashed 63,000 jobs in February, the most in last five years, but claimed a stimulus package could help stem the tide. "Losing a job is painful and I know Americans are concerned about our economy. So am I," Bush said. "I know this is a difficult time for our economy. But we recognised the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot." The stimulus package that US Congress passed this year will send tax rebates to American taxpayers by spring, and Bush urged them not to save it. "When the money reaches the American people, we expect it to boost consumer spending," he said. A labour department report on Friday said the US economy lost jobs in February for a second month running and at its fastest pace in five years, making it all the more certain that the nation is slipping into a recession. At 63,000 the job losses in February were nearly thrice as many as a downwardly revised 22,000 the previous month. Although the unemployment rate declined a tenth of a point to 4.8%, that was the result of so many people giving up and leaving the labour force, rather than a sign of economic strength, the department said. Separately, the Federal Reserve, the central banking system of the US concerned about another round of financial market freeze-ups, announced it
will boost loans to the nation's banks. The central bank will do so in two auctions this month raising the loans from $30 billion to $50 billion per auction, and will buy up $100 billion of mostly troubled mortgage-backed securities.
- May veto 'torture' bill
- President Bush is poised to veto legislation that would bar the CIA from using waterboarding — a technique that simulates drowning and considered as torture — and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects. Bush has said the bill would harm the government's ability to prevent future attacks. AP
HARD TIMES: President George Bush walks down the stairs of the Pentagon
