U.S. Jobless Rate Hits 10%
The U.S. economy shed another 200,000 jobs in October, pushing the national unemployment rate to 10.2% – its highest rate in twenty-six years. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor released revised its figures for September to show that 263,000 jobs were lost instead of the 219,000 originally reported.
It was the twenty-second consecutive month that the U.S. economy has posted job losses.
Analysts had forecast a much smaller jump in the jobless rate, which was 9.8% in September.
Since the U.S. recession began nearly two years ago, 8.2 million Americans have lost their jobs – the steepest decline in employment since the Great Depression.
Meanwhile, the national underemployment rate – which includes jobless Americans, part-time workers and those who have given up on looking for work, hit 17.5 percent in October.
In human terms, that’s 15.7 million Americans.
The number of government jobs, incidentally, did not change from September to October.
In addition to being a psychological milestone, the 10% mark underscores how badly the administration of President Barack Obama misread the economic situation when passing a so-called “stimulus” bill back in February.
At the time, Obama said that the “stimulus” would keep unemployment below 8%.
WEB EXTRA
U.S. Department of Labor October Employment Summary
Comments
By bondwooley on November 6th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Since the government can’t solve the problem, it’s time the people start facing unemployment with their own ingenuity:
http://bit.ly/ozqT6
(satire)
By larry on November 6th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
SHHH! You are not supposed to know that Obama lied about the economy!
By Crooner on November 6th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Unemployment at its highest in 26 years? Let’s do the math. 26 years ago was 1983, right? And who was president then? That guy must have been terrible, as he had been in office for over two years by then and can’t blame such outrageous unemployment on his predecessor.
By James the Foot Soldier on November 6th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
crooner – the first year’s of Reagan’s term were due entirely to the collapse of the economy President Reagan inherited from…..drum roll please crooner….jimmy carter. Fed Chairman Paul Volcker’s war on inflation (thanks to the democrat controlled congress and jimmy carter) was the medicine the American economy needed to get on a track to the longest sustained peace time expansion of wealth in American history.
enuff about the past you moron….
Sadly, the American people now have an utter incompetent FOOL as Federal Reserve chairman who blew through all his bullets in the first month of the first real crisis of his tenure…
The destruction of the American dollar at the hands of Obama and Bernake is NOT the path to long term economic growth.
The REAL unemployment number: 17% when those that have given up even looking for work are counted…but go ahead President Hopey Changey….go on vacation to Martha’s vineyard, go golfing more than any president since Dwight, campaign endlessly for LOSERS….it’s YOUR “community” that is being hit hardest by your incompetence.
p.s.last I checked jimmy carter was ranked in the bottom 5 of worst American presidents – a ranking sure to improve as Obama is already running neck and neck and he hasn’t even made it to turn two (racing metaphor for the mouth-breather).
By rick on November 8th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
But…But…But, Obambi said it wouldn’t go past 8%. And the latest, Obambi now says the economy will recover and jobs will be produced…gasp, just in time for mid-term elections. I am so relieved.
By quincy on November 8th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Yeah, crooner and others who criticize our holy Saint Ronnie. Enough of the past. Don’t bring up all this stuff because we have to respond to it. After only 3 years Saint Ronnie wasn’t able to fix the mess and made it worse. As his disciple Chaney said, Saint Ronnie ‘taught us that deficits don’t matter.’ Nevermind that under Carter the suffering lead to the debt going down, down, down. Under Saint Ronnie the debt went way up and he increased government immensely, despite claims of being against big bureaucracy. Carter was fiscally responsible. Carter was from the old school that said you pay your bills.
The people have suffered enough. Wall Street gets away without even getting their shoes wet while the people go down with the Titanic.
Why doesn’t anyone ever bring up the obvious? Repeal NAFTA, GATT and CAFTA. Withdraw from those treaties and the jobs will return to the USA.