Unemployment Hits 9.7%, but Job Losses Are Slowing

Biggest drop in 34 years

(NEWSER) - November saw 553,000 Americans lose their jobs, according to a Labor Department non-farm payrolls report, the steepest drop in 34 years. The number exceeded even the grimmest predictions in Bloomberg’s survey of 73 analysts. “The labor market capsized in November,” said one economist. “The financial panic has hammered the economy, and we are seeing a very broad-based decline in payrolls.” More»

But it's the best jobs month since May, with a net gain of 151K jobs

(AP) - US employers added the most jobs in five months in October, with the education and health care sectors leading the way. But the unemployment rate, measured by a separate survey of households, refused to budge. It remained stuck at 9.6% for the third straight month. More»

Jobs put in best showing since 2007

(NEWSER) - Job losses slowed and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in November, the Labor Department announced today, in its most positive jobs report since 2007. Nonfarm payrolls fell by a mere 11,000, while the unemployment rate, which is determined by surveying households rather than companies, fell from 10.2% to an even 10%. Economists had predicted that the rate would hold steady, notes the Wall Street Journal . More»

Companies cut 190,000 jobs last month

(NEWSER) - Unemployment cracked the 10% barrier last month, as 190,000 workers lost their jobs, according to Labor Department figures released today. The bigger-than-expected losses bring the rate to 10.2%, a 26-year high. And the underemployment rate, which includes would-be full-timers working part time and those who've given up looking for work, hit a record high of 17.5%. “It is no surprise that consumer confidence is backpedaling, and the outlook for consumer spending is poor,” one economist tells Bloomberg. More»

(NEWSER) - Unemployment has hit a 25-year high, but analysts say it will worsen as job cuts force consumers to cut back, triggering yet more payroll reductions, Bloomberg reports. Manufacturers, service providers, and even the US Postal Service are planning to lay off workers in the face of declining consumer demand. “We expect labor-market conditions to remain appalling for many months to come,” said one US economist. More»