June Jobless Rate Hits 9.5%, a 26-Year High

Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5% and suggesting that the economy's road to recovery will be bumpy. The Labor Department report released today, which shows 100,000 more jobs shed than expected, indicates that even as the recession flashes signs of easing, companies likely will want to keep a lid on costs and be wary of hiring until they feel certain the economy is on solid ground.

Many economists predict the jobless rate will hit 10% this year and keep rising into next year before falling back. The deepest job cuts of the recession came in January, when 741,000 jobs vanished, the most in any month since 1949. (More job cuts stories.)