US UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REACHES 9.8% … Stimulated Economy?

9.8%!!!

The US lost another 263,000 jobs in September, much higher than expected as the national unemployment rates rises to 9.8%. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected non-farm payrolls to drop 180,000 in September.  The unemployment rate is the highest in 26 years. So does Barack Obama and Joe Biden wish to sing the praises of the stimulus package again?

U.S. employers cut a deeper-than-expected 263,000 jobs in September, lifting the unemployment rate to 9.8 percent, according to a government report on Friday that fueled fears the weak labor market could undermine economic recovery.

The Labor Department said the unemployment rate was the highest since June 1983 and payrolls had now dropped for 21 consecutive months.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected non-farm payrolls to drop 180,000 in September and the unemployment rate to rise to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent the prior month. The poll was conducted before reports, including regional manufacturing surveys, showed some deterioration in employment measures.

Also, previous months job losses have been adjusted to show more jobs lost than previously reported.

The government revised job losses for July and August to show 13,000 more jobs lost than previously reported. Preliminary annual benchmark revisions, released together with September’s employment report showed that total non-farm payroll employment for March would have to be revised down about 824,000.