SEATTLE -- Gerald Smith has poured over the numbers helping to write this year's job gap study released by the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations.

It analyzes the gap between the number of people out of work, looking for a livable wage job in Washington and the number of actual jobs available.

Smith says it's a bleak outlook, especially for single parent homes.

"There are basically ten times as many job seekers as there are jobs available for that size family," Smith said.

That means families go without those basic needs -- housing, food, healthcare.

The study is based on last year's numbers, before the economy really took a dive.

"So this is really an underestimate. This does not include pink slips in the last year," Smith said.

The organization announced the results of the study via conference call Tuesday morning.

A representative from the Washington Federation of State Employees said more and more people are working hard, but coming up short of life's basic necessities.

Making the outlook even more concerning, according to another new study by Manpower Incorporated, job growth in the Puget Sound area is expected to fall below national figures in 2009.

That survey reports 17 percent of companies in Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue plan to hire more workers in early 2009, but 15 percent plan to cut jobs.

That leaves just a 2 percent projected growth in the Net Employment Outlook for the first quarter of the year.

The study predicts the strongest job growth will be in the retail and wholesale sectors, manufacturing, education and health services.

The biggest cuts will be in construction, since the housing market is so sluggish, also transportation and utilities, and the hospitality industries will see cutbacks.

A state employee representative told KIRO 7 said the state is facing a $6 billion deficit and needs to help with a sweeping economic stimulus plan.

To read the full study go to their Web site at www.nwfco.org/job_gap.htm