US job losses look set to increase in 2009.

At the 77th winter meeting of the US Conference of Mayors it was revealed that US employment fell by nearly 500,000 per month in the last four months of 2008, with New York set to suffer the largest drop in job numbers in 2009.

Out of the 363 metropolitan areas, 128 reported unemployment rates of at least 7%, while 70 areas will witness an unemployment rise of more than 10%.

The bulk of New York job losses centre around the Wall Street cut-backs in financial services – 50,000 people look set to lose their finance jobs in the state this year. Los Angeles will also witness high unemployment figures. The state is set to lose around 164,000 jobs due to the drop in local economy caused by the unstable property market.

Miami Mayor, Manuel Diaz, is President of the conference, which welcomed more than 250 of the nation’s mayors to discuss economic issues and the proposed Obama recovery plan. He said: “The economy is getting worse, more job losses are on the horizon, and small businesses are folding or holding on by the skin of their teeth. We need Congress to act now on a recovery plan to put people back to work.

“Cities and metropolitan areas are where 84% of the American people live and
where the pain of this economic downturn is being felt most. Because of this, cities are where the greatest resources should be placed and are where public investment can have the greatest bang for the buck.”

The conference also discussed US GDP, set to suffer its worst performance since 1982 as a drop of more than 5% is expected for the first quarter of 2009. Employment losses similar to those in 2008 are also anticipated for the coming year, with a “return to solid growth” predicted as being at least a year away.