A sharp drop in U.S. payrolls confirmed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's recent warning that the U.S. economy may be in recession, as the unemployment rate moved sharply higher.
The data suggest additional interest rate cuts by the Fed are likely, even though the already-aggressive response by officials doesn't leave them too much room for additional easing
Nonfarm payrolls fell 80,000 in March, the Labor Department said Friday, its biggest decline in five years, after falling by 76,000 in both January and February. Both were revised to show even bigger losses.