The worst job losses since the demobilization following World War II closed out December 2008, with the economy shedding 524,000 to bring the year's total losses to 2.6 million; the economy shed 1.5 million workers in the fourth quarter alone. Pressure is building for Congress to pass a major fiscal stimulus package quickly to shore up the economy and head off unemployment. President Obama's stimulus plan would inject as much as $800 billion into the economy over the next two years to prevent the downturn from getting worse.
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