Thousands of people in the United Kingdom will lose their jobs in the next two years as the deepening economic downturn forces more companies to cut staff, London city experts predicted this month.
Experian, the credit checking group, suggested job losses in banking and insurance sectors could rise to 40,000 over the next three years.
The number of Americans out of work grew by 861,000 in May - to 8.5 million workers - or 5.5 percent.
While the job losses cut through a number of industries, the biggest lay-offs were coming from the auto and financial services industries.
Recruiters are finding the Australian market is also feeling the pinch. However, while they are tightening and may not be replacing all their staff losses, they are yet to invoke 'slash and burn'.
The market, according to one recruiter, is seeing a return of expats from the United States, UK and Hong Kong, which is relieving some of the pressure on what has been a candidate-short market.
A number of people who have been looking to work overseas for a two to five-year period are now deciding to shorten their stint and are now coming back.
And added to the return of talent, there is also the situation where a lot of people are putting their hat in the ring as they know they won't be getting the bonuses they have been used to in the past, so they are now looking at different opportunities before the market slows even more.
So here we are again in interesting times.