A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the national unemployment rate rose to 8.1 percent in February, as companies shed 651,000 jobs.
"In February, job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors," the report stated.
That means the nation has suffered a decline of 2.6 million jobs during the past four months. A total of 4.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007.
Unemployment rose from 7.6 percent in January. The number of unemployed Americans increased by 851,000 during the month, rising to a total of 12.5 million.
The ranks of the long-term unemployed -- those out of work for 27 weeks or more -- increased by 270,000 in February to a total of 2.9 million.
Particularly hard-hit was manufacturing, which lost 168,000 jobs in February. Professional and business services lost 180,000 jobs, and construction companies cut 104,000. Financial companies cut 44,000 jobs last month.
One bright spot in the report was the health care industry, which added 27,000 jobs in February.
The report also found that the number of "involuntary" part-time workers had increased by 787,000 last month. That figure includes those who would prefer full time but have either had their hours cut or cannot find full-time work.
No comments:
Post a Comment