Rep. Carolyn Maloney: The Latest on the Economy

The newest job numbers tell Americans something they already knew - things are bad; they are bad all over - in almost every sector of the economy - in almost every section of the country.

According to the figures just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 3.6 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007, including the nearly 600,000 jobs shed in January. Given the steady stream of mass layoffs, a credit freeze and a decline in consumer spending, the writing was already on the wall for a devastating 13th month of job losses. The job losses were widespread throughout the economy and employers cut jobs at a faster pace last month.

My home state of New York knows only too well just how bad it is - New York had the highest number of announced layoffs last month with almost 48,000 jobs lost. Macy's cut 7,000 jobs, Estee Lauder lost 2,000, Time Warner laid off 1,250, and the Bloomberg news and data firm announced its first layoffs since it was founded by New York's Mayor Bloomberg 28 years ago. And one additional measure of how this recession is affecting every corner of the economy: even Allergan, the maker of Botox, has announced layoffs. Understandably, we'll be seeing frowns all over the country.

After 13 straight months of jobs losses, a total of more than 3 million jobs have now been lost. More than 2 million homes have gone into foreclosure, and millions of other homeowners find themselves owing more to the bank than their homes are worth. In California and Florida for example, home prices have descended by 50%+ from their peak in 2006.

Construction has fallen to its slowest pace since the Census Bureau began collecting data. Just yesterday, the Labor Department announced that initial jobless claims surged to 626,000 for the week ending January 31. The number of people on the unemployment compensation rolls now stands at nearly 4.8 million people - the most since records began in 1967, with another 1.7 million receiving extended benefits. Millions have lost their health insurance and $6 trillion in personal wealth has simply evaporated.