Summary Box: Unemployment rate jumps to 26-year high, though job cuts slow
By APFriday, September 4, 2009
Summary Box: Unemployment reaches 26-year high
THE BAD NEWS: The jobless rate jumped to 9.7 percent in August, the Labor Department said Friday, from 9.4 percent in July. That’s the highest rate since June 1983.
THE GOOD NEWS (SORT OF): Employers cut a net total of 216,000 jobs last month, the smallest monthly total in a year and far below the average cuts of 691,000 a month in this year’s first quarter. Still, the economy needs to add at least 125,000 or so jobs a month just to keep the unemployment rate from increasing.
WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT THE ECONOMY? Most analysts think the economy is now growing, as the manufacturing and housing sectors recover. But with consumer spending weak, it’s not enough to get employers to hire. Businesses traditionally wait until they are sure a recovery is well in hand before they start adding workers.
