U.S. minimum wage rises to $7.25 per hour, up from $6.55 - 2009

The Labor Dept. reports that U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs over the prior month, driving the nation’s unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent - 2009

General Motors filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The filing made the automaker the largest U.S. industrial company to enter bankruptcy protection. It went on to recover thanks to massive help from the federal government - 2009