Report: NYC Will Be Hit Hard by Job Losses in 2009

At the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a report revealed that New York City will lose the most jobs of any metropolitan areas. According to the AP, about 181,000 jobs will be gone from New York City in 2009; around 50,000 jobs will be lost from financial firms, which will continue to slash their payrolls in the wake of the credit crisis. Other cities that'll see a lot of unemployment: Los Angeles will lose an estimated 164,000, due to the cratering real estate market, while Miami and Chicago will lose around 80-85,000 jobs. However, there are some cities that'll see flat employment or a slight increase: "Ithaca, N.Y.; Fairbanks, Alaska; and St. George, Utah." At last check, the unemployment rate in NYC is 6.3% (November data), while the national unemployment rate is 6.7% (the rate for NY State is 6.1%; the rate for NY State excluding NYC is 5.9%).