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The unemployment rate in the US rose to 10.2 % in October, which was
its highest rate since April 1983 , according to figures from the US
Labor Department. It rose from September's figure of 9.8 %. The
economy lost 190 ,000 jobs in the month. The number of unemployed
people rose by 558 , 000 to 15.7 million. Since the recession began
in December 2007 , the number of unemployed has risen by 8.2
million, while the jobless rate has risen from 4.9 %. But there was
some better news with the revision of September's figure from a loss
of 263 ,000 jobs to a loss of 219 ,000 jobs. 'Disappointing' The
figures were particularly poor given Thursday's news of a fall in
initial weekly jobless claims and the data earlier in the week that
showed the US economy had grown by 3.5 % between July and September.
"It's pretty disappointing overall," said Richard Franulovich, senior
currency strategist at Westpac in New York. "Job losses are not
moderating as quickly as I had hoped despite those earlier indicators
on jobs." The dollar fell against both the euro and the yen following
the release of the figures. Long-term unemployed The sectors
contributing the largest numbers of job losses in October were
construction, manufacturing and retail. It was the 22 nd month in a
row that the US economy had shed jobs, which is the longest run
since records began 70 years ago. There is concern that rising
unemployment could scupper the recovery by restricting consumer
spending, which accounts for 70 % of the economy. The number of
people who had been out of work for at least six months rose to a
record 5.6 million, accounting for 35.6 % of the jobless total.
