US jobs data shows 2.58 million jobs were shed over 2008, the highest number since demobilisation after World War II.
The unemployment rate in December rose to 7.2 per cent, a sharp jump from 6.8 per cent in November, bringing the figure to its highest since 1993.
Most of the jobs were lost in the fourth quarter of the year, the report said.
The manufacturing industry was hardest hit over the year, with 791,000 factory jobs lost, mainly in the metal and auto sectors.
However, analysts were expecting steep losses given the number of US companies announcing sweeping job cuts and December's figure of 524,000 job cuts was slightly better than forecasts of 525,000.
Shares on the UK's FTSE 100 rallied slightly as a result, but the index still closed lower for a second day.
President-elect Barack Obama promised yesterday to tackle the crisis with a $775 billion package to prevent the recession from lingering "for years".
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