The Unemployment Rate for December was unchanged at 10%, as was the number of unemployed persons, at 15.3 million. At the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.7 million and the unemployment rate was 5%, which means these figures have nearly doubled on both fronts. Nonfarm Payrolls edged down in December by 85,000, exceeding the expected decrease of 7,000 by a huge margin, after increasing by 4,000 in November. Job losses continued in construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade, while temporary help services and health care continued to add jobs. However, the job market continued to show overall improvement last month, with a number of sectors posting gains. During 2009, monthly job losses moderated substantially. Employment losses in the first quarter of 2009 averaged 691,000 per month, compared with an average loss of 69,000 per month in the fourth quarter. The Average Workweek for December was unchanged at 33.2 hours as Average Hourly Earnings grew by 0.2%. Wholesale Inventories are expected today at 10:00 AM EST. Wholesale Inventories had increased by 0.3% in October to the $379.6 billion level and were down by 13.5% from a year ago. Wholesale Sales had increased by 1.2% in October to $326.2 billion. Sales of durable goods were up by 0.8% and sales of nondurable goods were up 1.6% over the month. The Inventory/Sales ratio was at 1.16, compared to 1.22 recorded a year ago Consumer Credit figures are to be released today at 3:00 PM EST. Consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 3.25 % in the third quarter of 2009. Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 7.25%, and non-revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 1%. In October, consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 1.75%. Upcoming Releases Wholesale Inventories (01/08 at 10:00 AM EST) Consumer Credit (01/08 at 3:00 PM EST) Trade Balance (01/12 at 8:30 AM EST) Treasury Budget (01/13 at 2:00 PM EST) Zacks Investment Research