“Employers buffeted by talk of recession slashed 80,000 jobs in March, the most in five years and the third straight month of losses.” The AP adds: “At the same time, the national unemployment rate rose from 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent, the clearest signal yet that the economy might already be shrinking.”

The new snapshot of the job market, released by the Labor Department Friday, underscored the damage that a trio of crises _in the housing, credit and financial sectors — has inflicted on companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole.

“The labor market has indeed turned south,” said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. “That was the one last bastion of hope to stay out of a recession. Now the question is how deep and how long will it last?”…

The new employment figures were much weaker than economists were expecting. They were anticipating a drop of 50,000 payroll jobs and the unemployment rate to rise to 5 percent.

The 5.1 percent rate, while relatively modest by historical standards, was the highest in 2 1/2 years.

Job losses were widespread in March. “Construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and various business services all racked up losses. That overwhelmed gains elsewhere, including in education and health care, leisure and hospitality as well as in government.”