Has your company cut personnel within the last three months?

Rhode Island lost 22,000 jobs in 2008 as the state's unemployment rate rose to 10 percent, second in the nation to Michigan.

In December alone the state lost 3,000 jobs, leaving the Ocean State with its highest unemployment rate using the current methodology since November 1982.

As companies try to guess how far down the recession will drive the state's economy, many enterprises are being faced with difficult choices for controlling expenses.

The big question for many of the state's employers is how many of their staff are they going to be forced to let go before the economy turns around.