(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-07 18:58

Outside of those areas, the falling value of the dollar against many foreign currencies is helping to power an export boom, which is benefiting farmers and some segments of manufacturing, particularly airplane makers and factories producing various types of heavy machinery where the United States enjoys a competitive edge.

But other segments of manufacturing are not faring nearly as well. Domestic automakers have been laying off workers in the face of slumping sales as the weak economy and soaring gasoline prices cut into demand. General Motors and Chrysler reported US sales were down 19 percent in March compared with a year ago, while sales at Ford fell by 14 percent.

Other manufacturers, such as appliance and furniture makers, have been hurt by the deep downturn in housing. In all, manufacturing lost 48,000 jobs in March, with half of those cuts coming in autos and auto parts.

Construction, decimated by the housing slump, shed 51,000 jobs, the ninth straight month that construction jobs have declined. Hiring has also fallen in related industries such as real estate agents and mortgage brokers, as well as at the Wall Street firms that have declared billions of dollars in losses from bad investments on securities backed by subprime mortgages.

In general, hiring is expected to hold up in areas where consumers will keep spending money regardless of the health of the economy, such as at grocery stores, gasoline stations and repair shops. But companies selling discretionary services - such as various segments of the tourism industry, from airline travel to hotels to restaurants - are likely to experience more layoffs.

"Anything that people can defer, like a vacation or buying a new car, tends to suffer," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. "The basics like food and medicine tend to do pretty well."

Small businesses, which generate the bulk of the country's new jobs, are decidedly more pessimistic. William Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said hiring plans had plummeted, with the number of firms saying they planned to hire new workers exceeding those planning job cuts by just 3 percent in March, down from 11 percent in the group's February survey.

Government employment generally holds up during a recession because of increased demand for services, although some states are warning of cutbacks due to falling tax revenues. Federal, state and local governments added 18,000 jobs in March, according to Friday's jobs report.

   1 2 3   

   1 2 3