Can the slump in housing get any worse? Oh, yes, indeed, a new report shows.

Starts on the construction of new homes plunged 14.2 percent last month, to a seasonally adjusted 1.1 million homes, the lowest since 1991, the Commerce Department reported.

Starts on single-family homes in the West slid 16 percent, to the lowest level since 1959. Single-family starts fell 9.3 percent in the Midwest and 7.4 percent in the Northeast, but rose 5.4 percent in the South.

Building permits, a closely watched indicator of future activity, tumbled 8.1 percent last month to the lowest level since 1993.

The numbers were much worse than Wall Street analysts had expected. The glut of housing stock remains huge, and builders are cutting back. This is why even industry optimists believe that a bottom in the housing market will not occur until later this year.