Unemployment Rate Reaches 10.2%

The jobless rate surged past 10 percent in October, marking the first time that unemployment has surpassed the double-digit mark since 1983, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Labor Department.   

The economy shed 190,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate rose from 9.8 percent to a 26-year high of 10.2 percent.   

"The employment numbers themselves when you look at the revisions weren't all that bad, but the headline of 10 percent was huge psychologically," Robert MacIntosh, economist at Eaton Vance, told AFP. 

Given the fact that the U.S. economy actually grew in the third quarter of the year, many see the continuing climb of the unemployment rate as a surefire sign that the nation is in for a prolonged jobless recovery.   

"It's not a good report," Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist for New York-based investment firm Miller Tabak & Co, told the Associated Press. "What we're seeing is a validation of the idea that a jobless recovery is perfectly on track." 

October marked 22 straight months of job loss. A total of 7.3 million jobs have been lost since the start of the recession, pushing the total number of unemployed to 15.7 million.   

When taking into account all those who have become discouraged and given up on looking for work, plus all those workers who have had their hours involuntarily cut, the unemployment rate rises to 17.5 percent.

Millions have been out of work for very long periods of time.  According to the Labor Department, 5.6 million people have been out of work for six months or longer.   

Nearly every sector of the economy shed jobs in October.  61,000 manufacturing jobs were lost.  Construction jobs decreased by 62,000.  And retailers cut 40,000 jobs during the month.    

The fact that unemployment continues to rise as other economic indicators improve suggests that high levels of unemployment could be a problem facing the American economy for a very long time.   

“We may be looking at very high levels, barring a policy response, for several years into the future,” Dean Baker, a director for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told The New York Times.  

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