Unemployment Hits 26-Year High As Job Losses Soar In September Job losses in September were sharply higher than economists had expected, driving the unemployment rate to its highest level in 26 years and pushing the number of people out of work above 15 million.
The U.S. Labor Department revealed Friday that non-farm payrolls dropped 263,000 in September. Economists had expected a decline of 170,000 jobs, though some disappointing employment news over the last few days raised doubt about whether the result could meet expectations.
The report included revised data for the last couple months as well, showing that payrolls dropped by 201,000 in August and 304,000 in July.
The unemployment rate for September came in at 9.8% compared to 9.7% in the previous month. This represented the highest unemployment rate since mid-1983.
September saw the number of unemployed rise to 15.14 million, compared to 14.93 million in August. There were about 7.6 million unemployed at the end of 2007, when the recession officially began.
The construction sector lost 64,000 jobs in September, while manufacturing lost 51,000. There was a 38,000-job decline in retail. Professional and business payrolls slipped 8,000 and job in the leisure and hospitality sector declined by 9,000.
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