it’s a sirious step. it means that the have a strong reason to do it.

The dollar slid to a 15-year low against major currencies on Friday as data showed U.S. payrolls fell last month for the first time in four years, raising recession fears and pressure for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

Traders dumped the dollar after the government said the U.S economy shed 4,000 net jobs last month, the first contraction in employment since August 2003. It also revised downward estimated job gains for June and July.

The payrolls data followed a larger-than-expected decline in July pending home sales reported earlier this week — more evidence that a credit crunch that began with losses on bonds tied to risky U.S. mortgages was starting to put the brakes on growth.

“The jobs data is simply horrific and fans the most pessimistic fears,” said Marc Chandler, chief global currency strategist with Brown Brothers Harriman in New York. “The housing market woes will undermine the U.S. consumer, push the U.S. economy into recession and drag down growth in much of the rest of the world.”

Traders have been increasing their bets that the Fed will cut its 5.25 percent benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point when it meets on September 18.

“The Fed cannot keep ignoring the fact that the subprime and credit crisis has indeed hit the real economy,” said Kathy Lien, senior currency strategist at DailyFX.com in New York.

“Americans are feeling the pain, and this will translate into weak consumer spending, which will drive speculation for a possible recession,” she said.

The dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, tumbled to a 15-year low.