Dismal economic news — and it's certain to get worse

By Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Coming on the heels of awful business and economic-growth reports, Friday's dismal news that the unemployment rate rose to 6.5 percent and employers shed another 240,000 jobs in October made it clear that the U.S. economy is now in recession.

The Bush administration and even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have been reluctant to use the "R" word, but few economists dispute that the world's largest economy is officially there.

"I think it's awfully hard to say you're not in a recession at this point. Ten consecutive drops in payrolls, I think any way you look at it is a recession," said David Wyss, chief economist for the New York rating agency Standard & Poor's.