The financial crisis of 2008 made its consequences painfully evident in the 2008-09 MLA (Modern Language Association) "Job Information List" ("JIL"). After trending upward between 2003-04 and 2007-08, the number of jobs advertised in the "JIL" in 2008-09 declined since 2007-08 by 446 (24.4%) in English and 453 (27.0%) in foreign languages. In the English edition 1,202 ads announced 1,380 jobs; in the foreign language edition 1,106 ads announced 1,227 jobs (ads that departments later marked "search canceled" have been excluded from these counts). In both numerical and percentage terms, this year's declines mark the largest single-year decreases in the thirty-four-year history of the "JIL" counts. (Contains 7 figures and 4 tables.)