US: US jobless rate up to 8.5 per cent, 663,000 jobs lost
03 Apr 2009 11:51 PM
The US unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 per cent in March .. the highest since late 1983 .. as a wide range of employers eliminated a net total of 663-thousand jobs.
The Labour Department's report is fresh evidence of the toll the recession has inflicted on America's workers and companies.
The latest tally of job losses was slightly higher than the 654-000 economists expected.
Since the recession began in December 2007 .. the US economy has lost a net total of five-point-one million jobs .. with almost two-thirds of the losses occurring in the last five months.
The deterioration in the jobs market comes despite a few hopeful signs recently that the recession .. now the longest since World War Two .. could be easing.
