Unemployment Rate Jumps To 5.4%
02 Nov 09:14
A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE News Roundup
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Unemployment surged in October as businesses
dismissed more workers than at any time in the last 21 years, highlighting the
economic toll from the terrorist attacks.
Nonfarm businesses slashed payrolls by 415,000, the largest cut since May
1980, the Labor Department said Friday. That pushed the unemployment rate up to
5.4%, the highest level since December 1996, from 4.9%.
The picture was far more bleak than economists expected. They forecast
payrolls to fall 283,000, and the unemployment rate to edge up to 5.1%,
according to a survey by Thomson Global Markets.
The Labor Department attributed the contraction in payrolls to a slump in
"nearly every major industry."
The service sector cut 241,000 jobs, the biggest retrenchment in 18 years.
Manufacturers eliminated 142,000 jobs, marking the 15th consecutive month of
decline. Since March, manufacturers have cut 887,000 jobs.
Average hourly wages rose just two cents, or 0.1%, to $14.47 in October. That
compared with a 0.2% increase in September. The average work week fell to 34
hours, down six minutes from September.
The government revised its estimate for September payrolls to a decline of
213,000, sharper than the decline of 199,000 initially estimated.
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 11-02-01
09:14 AM |
