Job losses prod policymakers into action

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Work from home helps cut expenses

London: Policymakers facing growing job losses prepared new moves to bolster their economies on Monday, with Germany finalising stimulus steps, Britain striving to protect jobs and the next US president aiming to reshape rescue plans.

German political leaders were meeting later on Monday to agree new measures after the head of the Federal Labour Office said unemployment could increase by around one million this year to about four million. Such a rise could push unemployment in Germany above 9 %. Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD) has said a plan worth up to 50 billion euros ($67 billion) over two years could be agreed, comprising investment in public services, tax cuts and other economic aid. Data from the United States on Friday showed more than half a million Americans lost their jobs in December, making 2008 the worst year for employment since World War Two. In Britain, where retailer Marks & Spencer and car maker Nissan Motor between them announced 2,430 job cuts last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was holding a jobs summit with industry leaders and pledged to spend 500 million pounds to stem rising unemployment. "We cannot always prevent people losing the last job but we can help people get the next job," Brown was due to say, according to remarks released by his office.

A survey from Australia and New Zealand Banking Corp showed the number of job advertisements in Australia slumped to recessionary levels in December. "The US payrolls numbers were pretty dreadful and helped underline fears that the U.S. labour market is undergoing a severe deterioration," BTM-UFJ currency economist Lee Hardman.