Yesterday, I saw that more than 70,000 people lost their jobs. Using the data on the side panel of that report (and some rough math), that’s 33% of the jobs lost year to date in a single day. Okay, you caught me, it’s still early this year, but that’s still quite a lot for one day.

The news doesn’t get any better. The consumer confidence index was revised down to a 37.7 mark for January. That looks to be a record low since the stat have been compiled (1967). It’s probably because I was so involved in the Internet economy in 2001, but it just seemed a lot worse to me.

Lastly, the economy has hit home. While my mother still has her job, she is turning 65 this year. She has seen a lot of her retirement savings disappear with the market losses. A little more removed, Bible Money Matter’s wife is facing a possible lay-off today (update: seems she kept her job with reduced hours). If you are in a similar situation, I highly suggest you read that article. He has a lot of great information about dealing with all phases of job loss: from prevention to finding a new job.

As I write this I feel a bit of survivor syndrome. Sure, my business here (and elsewhere) is impacted by the economy, but thus far it hasn’t been a big impact. One might even claim that recession is good for people who write about responsible spending – more people should be looking for personal finance information. My wife has the equivalent of tenure at her government/military job, something that has her and her co-workers quite happy the last few days.

Are you worried about being laid-off? Sound off in the comments.