US employers axed 533,000 jobs in November, the biggest monthly cut since 1974, the US Labor Department said.
the US jobless rate rose to a 15-year high of 6.7% from 6.5% in October.
Recent figures have fuelled fears that the world's biggest economy is set for a deep, long downturn.
Reacting to the unemployment data, US President-elect Barack Obama said: "There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better."
Separately, a measure of US service sector activity, the Institute for Supply Management's index, dropped to a record low in November.
The US service sector makes up about 80% of US economic activity.
November was the 11th month in a row that the economy lost jobs.
In the past six months the US has lost 1.55 million jobs
No comments:
Post a Comment