Source: David Leonhardt, N.Y.Times ( Free Registration )

The government is out with more bad economic news this morning: The job market began to deteriorate even before the financial crisis reached a more serious stage two weeks ago.

Employers cut 159,000 jobs in September, more than twice as many as in August or July, the Labor Department reported. It was the biggest decline since 2003, when the economy was still losing jobs in the wake of the 2001 recession.

Economists had been expecting a loss of about 100,000 jobs in September. The new number was especially worrisome because the government conducted its survey during the week of Sept. 8, before the credit crisis took a new turn for the worse on Sept. 17.

Read Full Article: Jobs report underlines economic decline