Dismal jobs data adds urgency to stimulus

Economic recovery may not be strong enough to absorb millions left jobless

Friday’s dismal report on the rapid loss of jobs in January has added new urgency to the government’s efforts to reverse one of the worst economic downturns in memory.

But even if Congress and the White House can agree on a huge program of fresh spending and tax cuts to get the economy going again, it could take years to create enough new jobs to rehire the idle workers and keep up with growth in the labor force, economists say.

The U.S. economy has been shedding about a million jobs every two months, and there are no signs that pace will ease up soon. New figures published Friday morning showed the U.S. economy lost 598,000 jobs in January, the most since the end of 1974, pushing the U.S. unemployment rate up to 7.6 percent.