This will be the winter of our discontent. The impact of the recession on working Americans has been highlighted today by a series of announced cutbacks.  

A day before the November employment report is expected to show the worst job losses since the recession of the 1973-'74, there was this news:

•AT&T says it is cutting 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its workforce. The company slashed 13,000 jobs earlier this year.

•Viacom is eliminating 870 jobs, or 7 percent of its workforce.

•Credit Suisse is getting rid of 5,300 jobs, or about 11 percent of its staff.

•DuPont is eliminating 2,500 jobs.

•Jobless claims are still above 500,000, despite an unexpected decline last week. The number of claims for first-time state unemployment benefits fell 21,000, to 509,000.

•Private employers cut 250,000 jobs last month, the payroll processing firm ADP said on Wednesday in its monthly survey.

On Friday, the Labor Department will report on the employment situation in November. Many analysts expect that the report will show more than 300,000 jobs were lost. Goldman Sachs analysts are expecting a decline of 400,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate rising to 6.8 percent, from 6.5 percent.

And the jobs report is something of a lagging data point. December and January could be much worse. So if you are reading this at your job, say a little prayer.