The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed sharp and sweeping losses across all sectors, except healthcare as the nation's now year-and half recession continued beating down on the U.S. economy.

Since December of 2007, 5.1 million jobs have been lost, with almost two-thirds of those losses - 3.3 million - coming in the last five months, the Labor Department reported.

In March, the number of people without a job stood at 13.2 million.

That's an increase of 5.3 million workers who have lost their jobs since one year ago, when the unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent. And it's the first time since July 1985, that less than six in 10 U.S. workers were employed.

Scott Cryer, of San Dimas, used to be one of the six employed. That's why Cryer was waiting in line at the state Employment Development Department's West Covina office to find out why he hasn't yet received unemployment benefits. He said he has been living off a cashed-out 401K.

"I'm just looking for something, anything, just to get by," said Cryer, who said he was laid off from his paid electrical apprenticeship more than a month ago. "I know a lot of guys that have been laid off. There's not a whole lot out there."

Locally, the numbers in several cities exceed the nation's average.

For instance, Industry has a jobless rate of (18.3), followed by Baldwin Park (13.7), El Monte (13.6 percent) and South El Monte ( 13.2), according to the state's data for February. Whittier's rate rose to 7.9 percent and Pasadena's was at 8.4 percent. And those numbers will continue to rise, economists said.

They're rising because the San Gabriel Valley's economy is driven by sectors taking heavy hits in the economy.

For instance, manufacturing nationwide lost 161,000 jobs in March, with a heavy toll in factory employment (1 million jobs) over the past six months. The construction industry lost 126,000 jobs in March, still reeling from the housing downturn.

Retail lost 48,000 jobs, since peaking in 2007. Since then, retail has lost an average of 44,000 jobs a month.

Transportation and warehousing lost 34,000 jobs nationwide in March as trucking, couriers and logistics companies found less cargo to carry. Healthcare remained a bright spot, spiking upward in March by 14,000 jobs. But that was less than the monthly average gain of 30,000 last year. "We have had to cut hours to staff and done what's necessary to be healthy," said Kevin Smith, owner of Dal Rae Restaurant in Pico Rivera. Smith is not the only one.

Total nonsupervisory employees worked an average 33.2 hours a week last month. That's the lowest since 1964, when the government started taking such records.

Businesses and governments have been slashing hours for months, forcing workers to take unpaid days off and shorter hours in an attempt to stave off mass losses.

The lack of full-time workers has led to increases in the ranks of the underemployed. The underemployment rate - which includes people who were working part time but who wanted to full-time work, and those who gave up looking for work - was 15.6 percent in March. That was up from 14.8 percent in February and the highest since those records began in 1994.

Vincent Martinez, of Walnut, said his hours at Macy's were cut back severely after the holiday season.

"I am working, but it's like 15 hours or less," he said. "I'm trying to pay for school and living expenses. It's tough right now."

As the labor market shrinks, older workers are feeling the brunt of companies looking to cut costs, said Gary Kaplan, owner and CEO of Gary Kaplan & Associates, an executive search firm in Pasadena.

"There's a sense I can't get a job.... That 'I'm 55, I'm 58, who's going to hire me?' It's having a very negative impact on the workers being let go. There's a greater sense of hopelessness largely coming from older workers."

That's not to say the economy has been a picnic for younger workers.

The unemployment rate among teenagers was 21.7 percent among teens, down .1 percent from February.

Local and federal officials pointed to the government's economic stimulus package to get people working again.

"Today's numbers show that we have more work to do," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said in a statement.

That work includes providing billions of federal dollars to extend and increase unemployment benefits.

The government has provided states with $7 billion in incentives to expand unemployment benefits and $4 billion for work training-programs, Solis said. Rep. David Dreier's lamented the government's report while adding that government spending to get the nation's economy going again won't be the answer.

He touted a job fair his office organized for next week as a way for some to find work.

The government's numbers come at a time when the economy has shown some glimmers of hope.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed higher to end the week above 8,000 for the first time in nearly two months.

And despite the grim numbers, they were only slightly worse than analysts thought they would be.

The fact that they were in the ball park of what was expected deadened the impact a bit, said Sven Arndt, professor of Money, Credit and Trade at Claremont McKenna's Robert Day School of Economics and Finance.

"I think we're close," said Arndt, referring to a slow-down in the jobless rate by the end of the year. "We'll still see some bad news about unemployement numbers, but the rate they'll be lost will decline."

That will come as businesses hire again to restock depleted inventories, and stimulus money begins having an effect, he said. In the meantime, employment offices are a lot busier.

"They're backlogged," said Loris Allen, employment program manager for EDD, of delays in benefits. "They're doing the best they can to keep up." Allen said the West Covina office is now open on Saturdays, to help cope with increased demand for services. Reporter Bethania Palma Markus contributed to this story.