The combination of an overdue industry downcycle with a global economic crisis of unprecedented magnitude has forecasters warning of a significant slowdown that might easily last into 2010. Based on data available to us in early November 2008, we are predicting 2009 to be a very difficult year for the semiconductor industry. The financial meltdown, which began in the summer of 2007, has finally pushed the United States and the whole world into a recession. Consequently, it has brought fear and uncertainty through the entire food chain spanning electronics, chips and equipment. Here is just a sample of how scary the situation looked in the United States in November 2008: Total employment was down 2.4 million jobs from a year ago and there were 788,000 more in the workforce. November's job losses were the worst since 1974.
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