By JEANNINE AVERSA – AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON(AP) Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.

The Labor Department releases a report Friday expected to show the employment market turned worse in December, capping a year when job losses were logged every month.

With employers throttling back hiring, the unemployment rate is expected to jump from 6.7 percent in November to 7 percent in December, according to economists’ forecasts. If they are right, that would mark the highest jobless rate in 15-1/2 years.
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ – AP Business Writer

HONG KONG(AP) Most Asian stock markets fell Friday amid more corporate gloom and worries that a key U.S. jobs report could show recession in the world’s largest economy is deepening.

After fluctuating in the morning, markets trended down later in the session as investors awaited closely watched non-farm payrolls data, due out later in the U.S., that’s expected to reveal massive job losses as the global downturn leads companies to lay off workers and curb hiring.