As we prepare to elect a new President today the magnitude of the job facing that person is becoming clearer by the day. Circuit City, one of the nations largest electronics retailers, announced plans to shutter 155 stores and lay off scores of employees. From the Washington Post:

Circuit City is shutting down 155 U.S. stores and laying off 17 percent of its workforce as sales continue to slump along with a sharp slowdown in consumer spending, the company said yesterday.

The struggling Richmond-based electronics retailer said it hoped the moves would help cut costs and conserve cash. Several of its vendors have begun to limit credit, including requiring payment before the goods are shipped, the company said. Some vendors have also refused a traditional increase in Circuit City’s credit to purchase holiday merchandise.

Measurerments of manufacturing activity in the United States also plunged to lows not seen in decades.

Activity in the nation’s manufacturing sector, beleaguered by tightfisted consumers and the global credit crisis, declined last month to the lowest level in more than two decades, offering economists more evidence that the country is entering a deep recession.

The Institute for Supply Management’s index of conditions in the manufacturing sector is at its lowest level since the nation was in a recession in September 1982. Export orders have collapsed, and businesses appear to be struggling to sell inventories of items ranging from appliances to tobacco products, the report said.

“The bottom line is that this a very negative survey result and probably does spell a deep recession,” said Abiel Reinhart, an economist at J.P. Morgan Chase.

The survey’s index registered a score of 38.9. That figure, while probably obscure to most Americans, is a clear indication to economists that the manufacturing sector is shrinking markedly — in fact, any figure below 50 indicates a contraction. The index was 43.5 in September.

Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist with High Frequency Economics, which advises institutional investors, called the new figure “hideous” and added that “when you see a number like this, it’s very alarming.”

The United States auto market continued its free fall, with staggering declines in the monthly sales figures just released.

Automakers reported yet another month of steep sales declines yesterday — the worst in 17 years. Industry-wide, they sold 838,156 new cars, minivans and trucks in October, a collapse of about 32 percent compared with October 2007, according to preliminary data released yesterday by the industry research firm Autodata.

General Motors, Toyota, Ford and Chrysler, the four largest automakers in the U.S. market, all reported double-digit nosedives. GM said sales plummeted 45 percent compared with October of last year. Toyota’s sales eroded 23 percent, and Ford’s fell 29 percent. Chrysler reported a 35 percent drop.

U.S. sales total 11.6 million for the year so far, down about 15 percent, according to Autodata.

“It’s really an unsustainably weak level for all manufacturers,” said Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis. “This is clearly a severe, severe recession for the U.S. automotive industry and something we really can’t sustain.”

General Motors, the linchpin of American manufacturing for decades, is burning cash at over one billion a month and is careening towards a bankruptcy filing sometime next year absent some major change. In Massachusetts the Globe is reporting that Tweeter Etc, a high end electronics retailer that emerged from bankruptcy a year ago, is permanently closing its doors.

Hudson Capital Partners and Tiger Capital Group are planning to liquidate the merchandise at the company’s 94 stores. Already, Tweeter’s distribution centers and headquarters in Canton are shutting down. Tweeter, which opened its first shop next to Boston University in 1972, will stop its high-end installation services on Nov. 14, said employees at six Massachusetts shops who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the company

The new President will face a daunting economic picture that is going to cause us all a lot of pain. Whoever wins this race the American people have a right to expect a period of serious business from its elected leaders in Washington. That may be a naive expectation, but this is not your run of the mill recession.