Monthly Labor Review • March 2010 23

Payroll Employment in 2009

Ten months into the recession that 

began in December 2007, job 

losses accelerated, breaking from 

the trends of the previous two recessions, 

in early 1990 and early 2000.1 With the 

worsening crisis in the financial sector in 

late 2008, employees in most industries felt 

the impact. Payroll employment losses accelerated, and the largest 1-month job loss 

(779,000) of the recession occurred in January 2009. Employment declines moderated 

throughout the rest of the year. (See chart 

1.) In 2009, nonfarm payroll employment, 

as measured by the Current Employment 

Statistics (CES) survey,2 declined by 4.7 

million, to 130 million. Construction and 

manufacturing shed the most jobs during 

the year, while health services continued to 

add employees to payrolls.

As total nonfarm employment losses 

moderated in the second half of the year, 

other economic indicators also suggested 

an improvement in the general health of 

the U.S. economy. (See tables 1–3.) The 

gross domestic product (GDP) posted 

growth in the third and fourth quarters, 

after the previous four quarters saw losses. 

Corporate profits also grew in the third and 

fourth quarters, and the composite index of 

economic indicators gradually improved 

throughout the year. In the labor market, 

Payroll employment in 2009:

job losses continue

Employment declined by 4.7 million in 2009,

the largest calendar-year job loss in the history

of the series (since 1939); although payrolls

declined sharply at the beginning of the year,

job losses moderated thereafter

Megan M. Barker and 

Adam A. Hadi are 

economists in the 

National Estimates 

Branch, Office of 

Employment and 

Unemployment Statistics, 

Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

E-mail: barker.megan@

bls.gov or hadi.adam@

bls.gov.

Megan M. Barker

and

Adam A. Hadi

temporary help services not only saw job 

losses moderate, but also began to add jobs 

in the last few months of the year. Firms 

often purchase such services before hiring permanent labor. Some firms also may 

increase the worktime of their employees 

before adding new hires. Thus, in manufacturing, average weekly hours of production 

and nonsupervisory employees improved 

by 1.1 hours per week between March and 

December of 2009.

Nonfarm jobs 

The U.S. economy lost 4.7 million nonfarm jobs in 2009. (See chart 2.) In absolute 

terms, no other calendar year in the history 

of the CES survey has seen as many jobs lost. 

In relative terms, 3.5 percent of payroll jobs 

were lost over the year, the greatest rate of 

decline since 1945, when nonfarm businesses cut 6.6 percent of payroll jobs. 

The largest monthly losses occurred at the 

beginning of the year, marking the start of a 

divergence from the job loss trend set by the 

previous two recessions. (See chart 3.) Employment declined by 753,000, on average, 

during each of the first 3 months of the year. 

Between April and June, however, average 

job losses slowed to 478,000 per month. The 

last 6 months of 2009 showed more signs of 
Payroll Employment in 2009

24 Monthly Labor Review • March 2010

percent.4 Aggregate weekly payrolls had fallen by 6.0 percent between a high in March 2008 and a low in October 

2009; since then, the index has increased by 0.4 percent.

Loss leaders

Manufacturing and construction together accounted for 

48.0 percent of all jobs lost in 2009. U.S. manufacturing 

employment fell by 1.3 million, to 11.5 million, reflecting 

the largest calendar-year job loss since 2001 and the lowest employment level since 1941. (See chart 4.) The greatest monthly job loss occurred in January, when 279,000 

jobs were lost. Job losses averaged 173,000 during the first 

6 months of the year and then moderated in the second 

half, to an average monthly decline of 41,000.

Job losses in manufacturing were widespread during the 

year. The diffusion index over a 1-month span was just 

4.9 in January, indicating that nearly all manufacturing 

industries were cutting jobs. The index rose to 41.5 almost a year later, in December, indicating that hiring had 

started to occur in about 42 percent of all manufacturing industries. Fabricated metal products, transportation 

equipment, and machinery registered the largest annual 

moderation in job losses. The third quarter saw an average decline of 260,000 jobs per month and was followed 

by an average monthly decline of 90,000 in the fourth 

quarter.

Early in the year, the losses were widespread. The 

diffusion index over a 1-month span for total private 

employment reached 16.5 in March 2009, indicating that 

only about 16.5 percent of industries were adding payroll 

jobs, while about 83.5 percent were cutting jobs. The index 

had risen to 39.6 in December.

Total private average weekly hours for all employees fell 

0.4 hour over the year, to 33.8 hours. Declines occurred 

during the first half of the year, and then weekly hours 

varied by only 0.1 hour from the average of 33.8 hours. 

Average weekly hours remained 0.9 hour lower in 2009 

than when the recession began. The index of total private 

aggregate weekly hours3 declined by 5.3 percent over the 

year and has fallen by 9.7 percent since reaching a peak in 

December 2007.

In 2009, total private average hourly earnings of all employees increased by 42 cents, to $22.38. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 1.9 percent while the index 

of total private aggregate weekly payrolls declined by 3.5 

Chart 1. Total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted 1939–2009

Millions Millions

1939 1944 1949 1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as identified by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which has not yet determined an end 

point for the recession that began in December 2007.

140

 20

 40

 60

 80

100

120

140

 20

 40

 60

 80

100

120
Monthly Labor Review • March 2010 25

Table 1. Economic indicators, 2007–09

Indicator

2007 2008 2009

Quarter 

I

Quarter 

II

Quarter 

III

Quarter 

IV

Quarter 

I

Quarter 

II

Quarter 

III

Quarter 

IV

Quarter 

I

Quarter 

II

Quarter 

III

Quarter 

IV

Total nonfarm employment 

(average monthly change, by 

quarter, thousands)......................... 179.00 98.70 –13.00 94.70 –31.00 –191.00 –334.00 –651.70 –752.70 –477.70 –260.00 –89.67

Indexes of aggregate weekly

payrolls, all employees...................... 98.23 100.07 100.47 101.20 101.73 102.30 102.07 101.00 99.03 97.20 96.70 96.80

Indexes of aggregate weekly 

hours, all employees............................... 99.60 100.37 100.00 100.17 100.03 99.70 98.47 96.67 94.20 92.07 91.10 90.77

Average weekly

hours in manufacturing. 40.0 40.1 40.0 39.9 40.2 40.1 39.6 39.4 38.9 38.7 39.0 39.4

Unemployment 

rate (CPS)..................

4.5 4.5 4.7 4.8 5.0 5.3 6.0 6.9 8.2 9.3 9.7 10.0

Producer Price Index for Finished 

Goods (1982 = 

100)............................ 162.63 166.20 166.83 170.63 174.30 178.93 182.53 173.00 170.57 171.63 173.00 175.97

Consumer Price 

Index for All Urban Consumers

(1982-84 = 100).... 204.31 206.67 207.94 210.42 212.82 215.56 218.91 213.70 212.49 213.47 215.42 216.81

Gross domestic product (percent)............................ 1.2 3.2 3.6 2.1 –.7 1.5 –2.7 –5.4 –6.4 –.7 2.2 5.6

Corporate profits

 (billions of dollars).............................. 1,535.4 1,594.9 1,537.1 1,499.4 1,459.7 1,403.7 1,454.6 1,123.6 1,182.7 1,226.5 1,358.9 1,467.6

job losses: 190,000, 185,000, and 178,000, respectively. 

Within transportation equipment, motor vehicles and 

parts lost an average of 25,000 jobs per month during the 

first half of 2009, but then experienced little net change 

during the second half. Although most industries in 

manufacturing still posted job losses in the second half of 

2009, the overall rate of job loss slowed. The Institute for 

Supply Management’s index of national manufacturing 

showed a similar moderation, rising to 55.2 in October, 

the highest level since April 2006.5

Over the year, employment in construction fell by 1 

million, to 5.7 million, the largest absolute calendar-year 

job loss in the history of the series and the lowest employment level since 1997. (See chart 5.) The loss represented a 15-percent decline in employment, the largest 

calendar-year percent decline since 1950. In 2008, the 

majority of employment losses in the industry were in 

residential construction, with the rate of losses in nonresidential construction gradually increasing throughout the 

year. In contrast, the majority of job losses in 2009 were in 

nonresidential construction, with residential employment 

accounting for only one-third of the annual job loss in 

construction. Housing indicators set record lows in 2008 

and continued to do so in 2009. Sales of new homes fell to 

a record low in January 2009, and housing starts decreased 

to a record low in April. However, during the fourth quarter, both indicators returned to about the levels reported 

in late 2008. 
Payroll Employment in 2009

26 Monthly Labor Review • March 2010

Table 2. Economic indicators, monthly, 2009

Indicator Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Leading index.................... 98.6 98.2 97.9 98.9 100.2 101.0 102.1 102.5 103.7 104.2 105.8 107.1

Coincident index............. 102.5 101.9 101.2 100.8 100.1 99.7 99.8 99.9 99.9 99.7 99.9 99.9

Consumer confidence... 37.4 25.3 26.9 40.8 54.8 49.3 47.4 54.5 53.4 48.7 50.6 52.9

Retail sales (millions of

dollars)................................ 302,263 304,018 301,057 300,117 301,595 304,728 304,450 312,879 305,865 309,821 316,424 315,927

Initial unemployment 

claims (thousands)....... 585 631 644 645 636 608 559 580 550 531 501 480

Personal income 

(trillions)............................ 12.0 11.9 11.9 12.0 12.1 12.0 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.1 12.2

Industrial production 

(2002 = 100).................... 99.9 98.7 96.4 95.7 93.7 92.9 96.3 97.4 98.4 98.2 99.2 99.3

Sales of new homes

(millions)............................ .329 .354 .332 .345 .371 .399 .419 .408 .391 .400 .362 .345

Sales of existing homes 

(millions)............................ 4.49 4.71 4.55 4.66 4.72 4.89 5.24 5.09 5.54 6.09 6.54 5.44

Table 3. Housing and finance, monthly, 2009

Category Jan Feb Mar April May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Real estate over-the-month change, seasonally adjusted

 (thousands)........................................................................................... –11.8 –11.3 –9.7 –10.3 –8.0 –7.8 –1.5 –1.9 4.7 –3.7 1.8 –2.1

Mortgage rate, average 30-year loan............................................ 5.89 5.79 5.62 5.47 5.46 5.91 5.66 5.73 5.54 5.42 5.35 5.29

Mortgage loan application for refinancing (March 

 1990 = 100)............................................................................................ 6,492 4,473 4,498 6,541 4,794 1,998 2,090 1,983 2,455 2,808 3,115 3,214

Mortgage loan application for purchase (March 

 1990 = 100)........................................................................................... 303 257 257 253 254 261 262 278 273 269 204 241

Sales of existing homes (millions)................................................... 4.49 4.71 4.55 4.66 4.72 4.89 5.24 5.09 5.54 6.09 6.54 5.44

Chart 2. Total nonfarm over-the-month change in employment, seasonally adjusted, December 2007–December 2009

Thousands Thousands

–400

–800

–700

–600

–500

–300

–200

–100

0

100

200

–400

–800

–700

–600

–500

–300

–200

–100

0

100

200

Dec

2007

Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec

2008 2009
Monthly Labor Review • March 2010 27

Chart 3. Total nonfarm employment, indexed to start of recession, seasonally adjusted 

Number of months from recession

101

100

99

98

97

96

95

94

93

101

100

99

98

97

96

95

94

93

Index

(start of recession

= 100)

Index

(start of recession

= 100)

Chart 4. Manufacturing employment, seasonally adjusted, 1939–2009

Millions

–5 –3 –1 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23

Recession beginning 

December 2007

2001 recession

1990 recession

Millions

20

9

10

12

14

16

18

20

9

10

12

14

16

18

1939 1944 1949 1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009
Payroll Employment in 2009

28 Monthly Labor Review • March 2010

Construction employment fell by an average of 84,000 

a month in 2009, compared with an average monthly job 

loss of 66,000 in 2008. The majority of job losses in 2009 

occurred in the first 4 months of the year, during which 

monthly declines averaged 131,000. Job losses moderated 

in the next 8 months, and the average rate of monthly job 

loss slowed to less than half of its earlier pace. 

The biggest gainers 

In 2009, education and health services added 317,000 

jobs, a 1.7-percent increase over the previous year’s figure. On average, 26,000 jobs were added every month. 

The industry’s growth was concentrated in health care. 

Historically, health care has exhibited growth in employment from year to year, and 2009 was no exception: the 

industry added 215,000 jobs; still, this relatively large 

growth amounted to just 67.4 percent of jobs added the 

previous year. The bulk of the growth in the industry was 

in ambulatory health care services, which added 12,000 

employees, on average, every month of 2009, a figure similar to that of 2008. Nursing and residential care facilities 

added 51,000 employees in 2009, representing a growth 

rate similar to that experienced by the industry in 2008. 

Hospitals showed subdued job growth, adding less than 

one-quarter of the jobs added in 2008.

Within government, the sector “Federal, except U.S. 

Postal Service” gradually added jobs in 2009, with gains 

totaling 108,000. (See chart 6.) This increase followed 

78,000 jobs gained in 2008. In April 2009, employment 

increased by 125,000, a gain resulting largely from the 

U.S. Census Bureau’s addition of temporary, intermittent 

workers hired for activities related to Census 2010. Over 

the next 2 months, 96,000 jobs were lost, chiefly from the 

Census Bureau’s shedding most of the intermittent positions. Over the year, the Agency added a net 12,000 intermittent decennial census workers. Since the beginning of 

the recession, 186,000 nonpostal Federal jobs have been 

added.

When Wall Street meets Main Street

Employment in financial activities has declined since 

reaching a peak in December 2006. Job losses began to 

accelerate in the fourth quarter of 2008 as the financial 

crisis intensified.6 (See chart 7.) In October, the Federal 

Government implemented the Troubled Asset Relief 

Chart 5. Construction employment, indexed to start of recession, seasonally adjusted 

Number of months from recession

Index

(start of recession

= 100)

Index

(start of recession

= 100)

105

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

–5 –3 –1 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23

Recession beginning 

December 2007

2001 recession

1990 recession

1981 recession
Monthly Labor Review • March 2010 29

Program to bolster the U.S. financial system and forestall 

commercial and investment bank failures.7

In the first quarter of 2009, job losses in financial activities averaged 49,000 each month. Thereafter, employment declines continued, but decelerated in each of the 

last three quarters. Job losses averaged 9,000 during the 

last 3 months of the year. The industry shed 343,000 jobs 

over the year.

Credit intermediation and related activities accounted 

for nearly 30 percent of the jobs lost in the financial sector 

in 2009. Within financial activities, the combined subsectors “insurance carriers and related activities” and “rental 

and leasing services” shed 34.6 percent of employment in 

the sector.

Real estate also posted losses for the year (down 62,000), 

but the trend changed in the second half. (See table 3.) 

During the first two quarters, job losses averaged 10,000 

per month. After June, employment changed little. Offsetting trends in the loan and real estate markets translated into moderation in real estate employment losses. 

Financial institutions tightened credit criteria for borrowers, while first-time home buyers received tax incentives to purchase homes.8

 Average 30-year mortgage rates 

stayed consistently low throughout the year. Although the 

Mortgage Bankers Association’s refinance index showed 

extensive drops, the number of mortgage applications for 

the purchase (as opposed to the refinancing) of a home 

stabilized after falling for 2 years. Sales of existing homes 

increased past 5 million in July and reached a high of 6.5 

million in November.9 Sales had averaged 5 million for a 

year and a half, after surpassing 7 million in 2005 during 

the housing boom.

The evolving financial sector prompted a change in 

consumer behavior, resulting in a historically low consumer 

confidence index (25.3 in February 2009) and shrinking 

retail sales. The change in consumer behavior, combined 

with tighter credit, led to retailers shedding jobs in both 

2008 and 2009. Retail trade lost 503,000 jobs in 2009, 

accounting for 41.7 percent of the jobs lost in the industry 

since employment peaked in December 2007. (See chart 

8.) From that peak until the end of 2009, retail trade shed 

1.2 million jobs, pulling employment down to its lowest 

level since May 1997.

In the last quarter of 2008, motor vehicle and parts 

dealers lost an average of 29,000 jobs each month. (See 

chart 9.) Losses began to moderate in 2009, when employment declined by 18,000, on average, between January and March. Losses continued to decelerate over the 

next 4 months, during which the Car Allowance Rebate 

System, or “Cash for Clunkers” program, as it was popuThousands

Chart 6. Federal Government, over-the-month change in employment, except U.S. Postal Service, seasonally 

 adjusted, December 2007–December 2009 

Thousands

Dec

2007

Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec

2008

140

–20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

–40

–60

140

–20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

–40

–60

2009
Payroll Employment in 2009

30 Monthly Labor Review • March 2010

Chart 8. Retail trade employment, seasonally adjusted, January 1990–December 2009

NOTE: Shaded areas represent recessions as identified by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which has 

not yet determined an end point for the recession that began in December 2007.

Chart 7. Financial activities over-the-quarter change, seasonally adjusted, Quarter I 2006–Quarter IV 2009

Thousands Thousands

–100

–200

–150

–50

0

50

100

–100

–200

–150

–50

0

50

100

I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV

2006 2007 2008 2009

Millions

14.0

12.5

13.5

14.5

15.0

15.5

16.0

13.0

14.0

12.5

13.5

14.5

15.0

15.5

16.0

13.0

Jan

1990

Jan

1993

Jan

1996

Jan

1999

Jan

2002

Jan

2005

Jan

2008

Dec

2009
Monthly Labor Review • March 2010 31

Chart 9. Motor vehicle and parts dealers over-the-month change in employment, seasonally adjusted, January

 2007–December 2009

Thousands

Thousands

Thousands

Thousands

10

5

0

–5

–10

–15

–20

–25

–30

–35

10

5

0

–5

–10

–15

–20

–25

–30

–35

Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov 

 2007 2008 2009

Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec

2007 2008 2009

25

20

15

10

5

0

–5

–10

–15

–20

–25

–30

25

20

15

10

5

0

–5

–10

–15

–20

–25

–30

Chart 10. General merchandise stores over-the-month change in employment, seasonally adjusted, 

 December 2007–December 2009
Payroll Employment in 2009

32 Monthly Labor Review • March 2010

larly known, got consumers into dealerships in July and 

August.10 During the months that the program was operational, car dealers’ sales of U.S. light vehicles topped 2.3 

million units, 500,000 more than in the 2 months prior 

to the program’s availability.11 Motor vehicles and parts 

dealers’ employment notched up in August, followed by 

a decline in September, and then remained little changed 

during the final months of the year.

General merchandise stores, including department and 

discount stores, registered losses totaling 77,000 in 2009, 

about the same as a year earlier. (See chart 10.) Job losses continued in housing-related industries within both 

wholesale and retail trade. During 2009, building material and garden supply stores and wholesalers of lumber 

and construction supplies lost jobs at about the same rate 

as in 2008. Job losses decelerated in furniture and home 

furnishings stores and in the wholesale trade of furniture 

and furnishings.

Leading signals

Employment in temporary help services tends to lead 

trends in total nonfarm employment. In the recession of 

2001, the peak and trough in temporary help services employment preceded the corresponding peak and trough in 

total nonfarm employment. (See chart 11.)

Temporary help services reached its highest employment level ever in April 2000, and total nonfarm employment peaked 10 months later. Temporary help employment reached a low point in April 2003, and total nonfarm 

employment followed 4 months later. During the current 

business cycle, employment in temporary help services 

peaked in August 2006 and total nonfarm employment 

peaked 16 months later. In 2009, temporary help services 

employment appeared to reach a trough in September 

2009. When the demand for goods or services increases, 

employers often hire the services of a temporary help firm 

before they adjust their own payrolls. Total payroll employment had not begun to grow as 2009 drew to a close.

IN 2009, EMPLOYMENT LOSSES IN MOST INDUSTRIES

accelerated into the first quarter, but then moderated over 

the course of the year. Average weekly hours leveled off for 

workers in the private sector, while manufacturers raised 

the workweek by 1.1 hours for production workers, after 

hours had reached a trough in March. 

 Chart 11. Temporary-help services employment and total nonfarm employment, in thousands, seasonally 

 adjusted, January 1998–December 2009

Temporary-help

services

2,800

2,600

2,400

2,200

2,000

1,800

1,600

Total

nonfarm

140,000

138,000

136,000

134,000

132,000

130,000

128,000

126,000

124.000

122,000

120,000

Temporary-help services

Total nonfarm

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2009

 Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Dec

10 month lag

4 month lag

12 month lag
Monthly Labor Review • March 2010 33

Notes

1 Recessions are identified by the National Bureau of Economic 

Research (NBER), which has not yet identified an end point for the 

recession that began in December 2007. (See details on the Internet at 

www.nber.org/cycles/cyclesmain.html (visited Mar. 12, 2010).) According to the NBER, the previous two recessions were from March 

2001 to November 2001 and from July 1990 to March 1991.

2 The Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey is a monthly 

survey of about 150,000 nonfarm business and government agencies 

representing approximately 390,000 individual worksites. For more 

information on the program’s concepts and methodology, see “Technical Notes to Establishment Survey Data Published in Employment and 

Earnings,” in Current Employment Statistics—CES (National) (Bureau 

of Labor Statistics, Feb. 17, 2010), on the Internet at www.bls.gov/

web/cestn2.htm (visited Mar. 23, 2010). CES data are presented in 

Current Employment Statistics—CES (National) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, no date), on the Internet at www.bls.gov/ces (visited Feb. 5, 

2010). The CES data used in this article are seasonally adjusted unless 

otherwise noted. 

3 Aggregate weekly hours are the product of employment and average weekly hours. The index is calculated by dividing this aggregate by 

annual-average aggregate hours for 2007.

4 Aggregate weekly payrolls are the product of aggregate weekly 

hours and average hourly earnings. The index is calculated by dividing 

by annual-average aggregate weekly payrolls for 2007.

5 Founded in 1915, the institute is the largest supply management 

association in the world. Its mission is to lead the supply management profession through the association’s standards of excellence, research, promotional activities, and education. An index of 50 percent means that half of 

manufacturing establishments are growing, half shrinking. The higher the 

index, the greater is the percentage of establishments that are growing. (For 

more information, visit the institute’s Web site, on the Internet at www.ism.

ws (visited Mar. 12, 2010).)

6 Michael Bordo, “An Historical Perspective on the Crisis of 2007–

08: Remarks prepared for the Central Bank of Chile Twelfth Annual Conference on Financial Stability, Monetary Policy and Central 

Banking” (Rutgers University and NBER, no date), on the Internet 

at econometrics.nd.edu/directory/pries_michael/documents/An_

Historical_perspective1.pdf (visited Dec. 22, 2009). 

7 Judith Burns, “SEC Plans Close Scrutiny of Bank Reports,” The 

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 21, 2008, on the Internet at online.wsj.com/

article/SB122460971674154695.html (visited Jan. 29, 2010). 

8 See Jeff Bater, “Home-Builder Index Edge Higher; First Rise in 

Five Months,” The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 17, 2009, on the Internet 

at online.wsj.com/article/SB123489382498101527.html (visited Jan. 

29, 2010); and Damian Paletta and David Enrich, “Banks Told: Lend 

More, Save More,” The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 26, 2008, on the Internet at online.wsj.com/article/SB123024352610834057.html (visited 

Jan. 29, 2010). 

9 Visit the National Association of Realtors’ Web site, on the Internet at www.realtor.org (visited Mar. 12, 2010). 

10 Jeff Bater, “Consumer Spending Rises Thanks to ‘Cash for Clunkers’ Boost,” The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 29, 2009, on the Internet at 

online.wsj.com/article/SB125146105734166437.html (visited Jan. 

29, 2010). 

11 “Auto and Truck Seasonal Adjustment” (Bureau of Economic 

Analysis, Mar. 3, 2010), table 6, on the Internet at www.bea.gov/

national/xls/gap_hist.xls (visited Mar. 17, 2010).