Jobless rate bolts to 8.1 pct., 651,000 jobs lost: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

AP
Friday March 6, 11:02 am ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer

Jobless rate jumps to 8.1 percent in Feb., highest since late 1983; employers cut 651,000 jobs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's unemployment rate bolted to 8.1 percent in February, the highest since late 1983, as cost-cutting employers slashed 651,000 jobs amid a deepening recession.

Both figures were worse than analysts expected and the Labor Department's report shows America's workers being clobbered by a wave of layoffs unlikely to ease in the coming months.

"There is no light at the end of the tunnel with these numbers," said Nigel Gault, economist at IHS Global Insight. "Job losses were everywhere and there's no hope for a turnaround any time soon."

February's net job loss came after even deeper payroll reductions in the prior two months, according to revised figures released Friday. The economy lost 681,000 jobs in December and another 655,000 in January.

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