While the Street expected today's unemployment report to be cringe-worthy, the latest data from the Labor Department was worse than economists expected. The U.S. lost 524,000 jobs in December, nudging the unemployment rate to a 16-year high of 7.2%. Economists, on average, expected a monthly loss of 500,000 jobs, and forecast the jobless rate to dock at 7.1%.

In addition, the number of part-time workers rose by 715,000 to 8.04 million, while total hours worked fell 1.1%. As a result, the average workweek in December fell to its shortest ever.

The hardest-hit industry last month included the goods-producing sector, which slashed 251,000 jobs, including 149,000 manufacturing positions. Meanwhile, the services-producing industry reduced its workforce by 273,000, including 113,000 in business services and 67,000 in retail trade.

During just the past 4 months, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs, with 2.6 million lost in 2008. The unemployment rate rose by 2.3% during the 12-month period, and the number of jobless rose by 3.6 million. The hefty losses last year mark the biggest job deficit in any calendar year since 1945.