Thousands of fresh redundancies have been announced as the Prime Minister hosted a jobs summit aimed at helping the growing army of unemployed.
Gordon Brown pledged that people thrown out of work would not be "abandoned" by the Government.
He announced a series of measures, including a so-called "golden hello" of £2,500 for firms recruiting people unemployed for more than six months, extra apprenticeships and "intensive" support aimed at helping up to 500,000 people over the next two years.
But the relentless toll of redundancies, which is cutting deeper into British industry by the day, continued with almost 700 job cuts at heavy machinery giant JCB, almost 1,000 at logistics firm Wincanton and almost 400 at troubled china and crystal maker Waterford Wedgwood.
A further 420 jobs were under threat at Findus frozen food firm Newcastle Productions after the firm went into administration, while there were fears for the future of 1,000 jobs at furniture retailer Land of Leather after the company suspended its shares.
Hull-based Honda dealership deVries, which employs 130 workers, said it had appointed receivers after being hit by a fall in sales. Meanwhile, leading auction house Christie's, which employs 2,100 staff around the world, announced a reorganisation expected to lead to job cuts.
However, supermarket Morrisons gave a boost to Gordon Brown's jobs summit by flagging up plans to create 5,000 jobs this year.
Rival Sainsbury's also said at its Christmas trading update last week that the group would create 4,000 jobs this year. And Iceland bought 51 stores from the administrators of collapsed retailer Woolworths last Friday with plans to create 2,500 jobs.
The Prime Minister told an audience of 150 business, union and voluntary sector leaders at the jobs summit that the Government aimed to help 500,000 people into work or work-focused training over the next two years.
"We will do everything we can to prevent the global recession turning into a global depression, prevent short-term unemployment turning into long-term unemployment, and to prevent losing your job meaning losing your home. My message is simple - we won't give up on you, but in turn you must not give up on work, on skills and on training."
-Nova