In the labor market, private employers shed 168,000 jobs in September, bringing the total job loss in the private sector since January to nearly 900,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate, at 6.1 percent in September, has risen 1.2 percentage points since January.
Incoming data on consumer spending, housing, and business investment have all showed significant slowing over the past few months, and some key determinants of spending have worsened: Equity and house prices have fallen, foreign economic growth has slowed, and credit conditions have tightened.