It's no longer a question of recession or not. Now it's how deep and how long. Workers' pink slips stacked ever higher in March as jittery employers slashed 80,000 jobs, the most in five years, and the national unemployment rate climbed to 5.1 percent. Job losses are nearing the staggering level of a quarter-million this year in just three months.

For the third month in a row total U.S. employment rolls shrank — often a telltale sign that the economy has jolted dangerously into reverse.

At the same time, the jobless rate rose three-tenths of a percentage point, a sharp increase usually associated with times of deep economic stress.

The grim picture described by the Labor Department on Friday provided stark evidence of just how much the jobs market has buckled under the weight of the housing, credit and financial crises. Businesses and jobseekers alike are feeling the pain.

"It is now very clear that the fat lady has sung for the economic expansion. The country has slipped into a recession," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. Indeed, there is widening agreement that the first recession since 2001 has arrived. Even Ben Bernanke, in a rare public utterance for a Federal Reserve chairman, used the "r" word, acknowledging for the first time this week that a recession was possible.

Job losses were widespread last month, hitting workers at factories, construction companies, retailers, banks, real-estate firms and even temporary-help agencies. Also mortgage brokers, hotels, computer design shops, accounting firms, architecture and engineering companies, legal services, airlines and other transportation as well as telecommunications companies.

Those cuts swamped employment gains elsewhere, including at hospitals and other heath-care sites, educational services, child day-care providers, bars and restaurants, insurance companies, museums, zoos and parks. And the government, which is almost always up.

In fact, private employers have shed jobs for four straight months, though December showed an overall gain for the economy because the government increase outweighed the private loss.

March's losses were the most since the same month in 2003, when companies were still struggling to recover from the last recession. Adding to the angst: Revised figures showed losses were actually deeper than first reported for both January and February.

All told, the economy now has lost 232,000 jobs in the first three months of this year.

On Wall Street, investors took the weak employment figures in stride. The Dow Jones industrials lost just 16.61 points, while other indexes edged higher.

All the economy's problems are forcing people and businesses to hunker down, crimping spending and hiring, a vicious cycle.

"Across the board, businesses have become very, very conservative," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. More downbeat about their own sales prospects because of cautious consumers, employers are cutting back. "It only makes sense for them to run leaner if we are going into a recession or already in one" as Naroff now believes.

The new employment figures were much weaker than economists were expecting. They were anticipating a drop of 50,000 payroll jobs.

Michael Gregory, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets Economics, said the employment report was "emitting recession signals."

The national unemployment rate of 5.1 percent, relatively modest by historical standards, is nonetheless the highest since September 2005, following the devastating blows of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Some groups are feeling more of the strains from the economy's current woes. The unemployment rate for Hispanics, for instance, jumped to 6.9 percent in March, the highest in over four years. The rate for blacks climbed to 9 percent, a two-month high.

With the public on edge, Congress, the White House and presidential contenders are scrambling to come up with their own relief plans to stem record-high home foreclosures and stabilize housing — even as they engage in a political blame game.

Democrats want more economic assistance, including extending unemployment benefits. The Bush administration has resisted, saying the government's $168 billion stimulus package of tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses will be sufficient once it kicks in.

"We don't like to see one job lost, let alone 80,000," Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said in an interview with The Associated Press. "These are challenging times," he said. Gutierrez was hopeful the economy would turn around in the second half of this year, given the relief efforts by the government and the Federal Reserve. "We'll get through this."

Democrats were skeptical of the administration's efforts.

"Our economy is spiraling downward," said presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton. "It is time for this administration to put ideology aside and get serious about stemming this crisis."

Barack Obama said, "Instead of doing nothing for out-of-work Americans, we need a second stimulus that extends unemployment insurance and helps communities that have been hit hard by this recession."

Republican John McCain said the unemployment news "underlines the need to focus on innovation, which grows the economy and creates an urgent need for effective worker retraining."

Given the worsening employment situation, the Federal Reserve probably will lower a key interest rate, now at 2.25 percent, later this month.

The Fed has taken a number of extraordinary actions recently — slashing interest rates, providing financial backing to JP Morgan's takeover of troubled Bear Stearns and opening an emergency lending program for big investment houses. All the actions were aimed at limiting damage to the national economy.

With the pace of hiring slowing, the number of unemployed people increased to 7.8 million in March.

Workers with jobs saw modest wage gains. Average hourly earnings for jobholders rose to $17.86 in March and are up 3.6 percent over the past 12 months. With lofty energy and food prices, workers may feel like their paychecks are shrinking. If the job market continues to falter, wage growth probably will slow, too, making consumers even less inclined to spend, which would further hurt the economy.

Many analysts believe the economy shrank in the first three months of this year and could still be ebbing now. The government will release its estimate of first-quarter economic growth later this month. Under one rough rule, if the economy contracts for six straight months it is considered in a recession. When a determination is made by a panel of experts about when a recession has started and ended — it is usually done well after the fact.

Bernanke and the Bush administration are hopeful the economy will improve in the second half of this year. Even so, Bernanke predicted this week that the unemployment rate would rise further. Some analysts say it could climb to 5.75 percent or higher this year.

Advises Hoffman: "If you've got a job, hang on to it the best you can."

Has Zero-Tolerance for Sexual Harassment in Schools Gone Too Far?
By JUJU CHANG, ALISHA DAVIS, COLE KAZDIN and OLIVIA STERNS
April 4, 2008 —

In schools across the country, kids as young as three and four are now facing charges of sexual harassment that will stay with them permanently on their school records.

These so-called "zero-tolerance" polices, designed to protect students from weapons and drugs or sexual violence, are often being taken quite literally.

Randy Castro, 7, who likes recess and soccer, now has an alarming red flag in his school records. It started on the playground with a first grade classmate.

"I saw another kid like hitting her butt so I did it," Castro said.

His Potomac View Elementary School then called the police and wrote him up as a sexual harasser. Woodbridge, Md. school officials described the incident as "Sexual Touching Against Student, Offensive," in their report.

"When I hear 'mommy they called police because I am a bad boy,' that is the message that you're giving to a 6-year-old?" said Randy's mother, Claudia Castro.

Ted Feinberg, assistant director of the National Association of School Psychologists, was stunned by the school's reaction and says 6-year-olds have no idea what those behaviors mean.

"I believe they do not have the capacity for awareness of sexual motivation & it seems like a gross mislabeling of the behavior and an overreaction," said Feinberg.

The school declined ABC News' request for an interview, but said in a statement that a "misunderstanding" led the principal to call the police, and that "the police never spoke to the child and no disciplinary action was taken by the administration."

According to the state's Department of Education, 166 elementary students were suspended in Maryland last year for sexual harassment, including three preschoolers, 16 kindergartners and 22 first-graders.

In Virginia, 255 elementary students were suspended for offensive sexual touching last year as well.

Two years ago in Texas, a four-year-old was punished for sexual harassment after a teacher's aide accused the pre-schooler of pressing his face into her breasts during a hug.

While a school's priority is to keep kids safe, critics argue the "zero-tolerance" policies can mean zero discretion.

"Overwhelming research suggests that "zero-tolerance" is not effective and often engenders more bad behavior," said Feinberg.

Randy's school has told ABC News that this won't be going on his permanent record, but for Randy's mom, his childhood innocence has been changed forever.

"They are treating him like a teenager or a grown-up & He is not. He is just a child," said Claudia Castro.

Child sex offenders do exist. A Justice Department survey says that kids aged 7-11 were responsible for almost 4 percent of all the sexual assaults committed in the U.S. The question is whether some of the kids being slapped with these sexual harassment labels deserve them.

Let GMA know what you think and weigh in with your thoughts on our comment board.

I woke up this morning/afternoon feeling so refreshed. I can see and hear clearly, my heart is beating correctly, and all my limbs are intact. I thank God for this blessing of what I consider good health. My only negative part is in my own mind I battle between good thoughts and bad thoughts every second of the day. I can't afford a psychologist for counseling sessions. So I pick up my bible and read the book of proverbs for all my negative thoughts there was a rebuttal in a positive light. So I thought to myself how am I finding all the counteractions to my mental actions? Could it be that God is talking to me? Out of the Blue as I am reading along my fan blows my pages to a different book in the bible Ishaih 30:21 and I was astonished at what it said.

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

At this point I felt Goosebumps run up my arm and a very warm feeling on the inside. I am pretty sure I had a spiritual experience with God. Although it is not the same style as Moses or Abraham's close encounter's with God I truly believe he talked to me using my faith. Some who I talk to says it is enlightenment that is the feeling that you have your mind just realized something. Basically they were down playing my theory. Most of my friends really do their best to get me to think more logically instead of "dream spirituality". I am one who dream big dreams I want to move mountains Jesus said if you have faith and say to this mountain be thou removed it will be. My spiritual friends do their best to convince me that Jesus meant that purely metaphorically. The mountain represented all the difficulties we face in life.

I know that you are here to uphold the law but why did you think I was going to rob the store. I was recieving dirty looks as soon as I walked through the door. I have money to buy chips and candy, I sorry if it's because my pants are big and baggy. It's the style nowadays it doesn't mean I am up to my rebel ways. I am not a threat of pain or death I look scary so this is the treatment i get. they say don't judge a book by it's cover but that concept has trashed faster then a christmas sweater. It's not my falt they fear me I must be scary because whne I walk down the street ladys clinch their purse in fear of hurt. So please Mr. Officer don't talk to me talk to my lawyer. I am free to roam the streets shop where I want to shop and eat where I want to eat. I was in a store today and seen people I haven't seen in a few weeks. I couldn't believe that mr. officer was not walking the beat. So today was a good day when the cats away the mice will play. PEACE and Love to all !

By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer
3 minutes ago


Wall Street slipped modestly Thursday after the Labor Department reported a spike in jobless claims, sapping some of the market's confidence ahead of Friday's anxiously anticipated March employment report.

Wall Street was disappointed to hear the government say the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose by a full 38,000 last week to 407,000 — the highest level since September 2005. The less volatile four-week average of claims also increased, by 15,750 to 374,500.

However, the stock market's losses were mild, particularly given the huge advance Wall Street logged Tuesday and has mostly maintained. Investors got a bit of relief from the Institute for Supply Management which said Thursday the services sector contracted only slightly in March — a stronger performance than in February, and a better reading than many economists predicted.

"We're still holding up," said Steven Goldman, chief market strategist at Weeden & Co. in Greenwich, Conn. ""We've had a big rally." The Dow Jones industrial average, which shot up nearly 400 points on Tuesday, is up more than 7 percent since March 10, when it hit its lowest level since October 2006.

Meanwhile, Wall Street was cautiously listening for new information about the economy and financial system from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who was appearing before Congress for a second straight day. On Wednesday, the Fed chairman said a recession is possible in the first half of this year, and on Thursday focused on its decision to aid JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s purchase of the struggling Bear Stearns Cos.

"People are listening, trying to get a general understanding of the role the Fed played with Bear Stearns," Weeden & Co.'s Goldman said. "But I don't think it's swaying trading."

With a broad swath of corporate earnings reports set to arrive in the coming weeks, the market is eager for signs that the economy, while undeniably weak, is not crumbling, and that the credit markets are improving.

By midday, the Dow was down 35.82, or 0.28 percent, at 12,570.01 in fluctuating trading, sometimes moving into positive territory.

Broader stock indicators also dipped slightly. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.67, or 0.05 percent, to 1,366.86, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 3.85, or 0.16 percent, to 2,357.55.

Government bonds edged higher as investors grew more uncertain about the economy and turned to safer assets. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.55 percent from 3.60 percent late Wednesday.

Crude oil rose 37 cents to $105.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, extending the surge it made a day earlier on the prospect of climbing demand for gasoline.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold declined further below $900 an ounce.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.59, or 0.22 percent, to 710.68.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 523.9 million shares.

Tokyo's Nikkei index closed 1.52 percent higher. There were light losses in the European stock markets — London's FTSE fell 0.42 percent, Frankfurt's DAX lost 0.53 percent and Paris' CAC 40 slid 0.49 percent.