Another 558,000 people joined the ranks of the jobless, bringing the total to 15.7 million. A separate survey showed businesses shed 190,000 jobs.
“Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 8.2 million and the unemployment rate has grown by 5.3 percentage points,” BLS said.
October’s jump in joblessness highlighted the need for a further extension of unemployment benefits, of up to 20 weeks, which the Democratic-run 111th Congress rushed through the day before BLS released the numbers. The Senate voted for the benefits by a 98-0 margin and the House agreed, 403-12. All the “no” votes were Republicans, and Senate Republicans had also delayed the measure for a month.
“While the job losses are moderating, the unemployment rate will continue to rise until we add jobs in a very healthy way,” Heidi Shierholz of the labor-backed Economic Policy Institute told National Public Radio.
Some details from the October jobless report:
• The jobless rate among adult men increased 0.4% in October, to 10.7%. The rate for adult women rose 0.3% last month, to 8.1%.
• Factories shed 61,000 jobs in October – they’re now on a 10-year slide – and are down to 11.675 million. Surveys showed 1.88 million unemployed factory workers, with a jobless rate of 12.2%.
• Construction lost 62,000 jobs and slid below 6 million. Surveys showed 1.74 million jobless construction workers. The construction jobless rate is 18.7%.
• The jobless rate is the tip of the unemployment iceberg. Including the jobless, those forced to work part-time when they really want full-time work and workers so discouraged by fruitless job hunting that they’ve dropped out, 17.5% of the workforce is unemployed or underemployed. That figure rose 0.7% in one month.
• More than half the unemployed (55%) are “not on temporary layoff” and more than a third (35.6%) have been out of work at least six months. They will benefit from the new unemployment compensation extension.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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Another 558,000 people joined the ranks of the jobless, bringing the total to 15.7 million. A separate survey showed businesses shed 190,000 jobs.
“Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 8.2 million and the unemployment rate has grown by 5.3 percentage points,” BLS said.
October’s jump in joblessness highlighted the need for a further extension of unemployment benefits, of up to 20 weeks, which the Democratic-run 111th Congress rushed through the day before BLS released the numbers. The Senate voted for the benefits by a 98-0 margin and the House agreed, 403-12. All the “no” votes were Republicans, and Senate Republicans had also delayed the measure for a month.
“While the job losses are moderating, the unemployment rate will continue to rise until we add jobs in a very healthy way,” Heidi Shierholz of the labor-backed Economic Policy Institute told National Public Radio.
Some details from the October jobless report:
• The jobless rate among adult men increased 0.4% in October, to 10.7%. The rate for adult women rose 0.3% last month, to 8.1%.
• Factories shed 61,000 jobs in October – they’re now on a 10-year slide – and are down to 11.675 million. Surveys showed 1.88 million unemployed factory workers, with a jobless rate of 12.2%.
• Construction lost 62,000 jobs and slid below 6 million. Surveys showed 1.74 million jobless construction workers. The construction jobless rate is 18.7%.
• The jobless rate is the tip of the unemployment iceberg. Including the jobless, those forced to work part-time when they really want full-time work and workers so discouraged by fruitless job hunting that they’ve dropped out, 17.5% of the workforce is unemployed or underemployed. That figure rose 0.7% in one month.
• More than half the unemployed (55%) are “not on temporary layoff” and more than a third (35.6%) have been out of work at least six months. They will benefit from the new unemployment compensation extension.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.