CBO: Expect Another 2.3 Million Lost Jobs Next Year

Hope for change:

There is no disagreement, however, about the net directional effect of the two. CBO and OMB project a weaker economy in the remainder of 2009 and in 2010 than they projected at the beginning of this year before enactment of the stimulus.
How much weaker?
Based on CBO’s forecast for the average unemployment rate in calendar year 2010, 2.3 million fewer people will be employed on average next year than they projected in January.
For comparison, in July there were about 140 million people employed in the U.S.
Next year’s reality will depend heavily on when the economy turns up and how quickly growth returns. A new projection of fewer people employed next year should not surprise anyone. But 2.3 million is a big bad number.

The CBO is projecting an average unemployment rate next year of 10.2%. But how high will that number go when we include people who give up looking for jobs? Right now that number is about 16%, and it seems like we’re heading higher.