"The job losses in retail trade, leisure and hospitality and employment services -- those are ripple effects," said Harry Holzer, a labor economist at Georgetown University and a fellow at the Urban Institute. "A lot of us think we'll see a lot more of this over the next couple of months."
The unemployment rate held steady at 6.1% for the month, in part because of a decline in the number of people looking for work.
Economists said they expect the job losses to continue and the unemployment rate to climb in coming months.
"A lot of people think we're just starting to see the effects of the financial crisis and credit markets on the labor market," Holzer said.
The bad employment report was expected to heighten pressure on Congress to pass an economic rescue package designed to ease the credit crunch that has frozen Wall Street and shut off credit flows to businesses across the country. The House has scheduled a vote for today.