Melvin Baker - AHN Reporter
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - More than 10 percent of Americans are out of work, the Labor Department reported Friday. It's the highest rate of unemployment in 26 years.
Some 190,000 workers lost their jobs in October, driving the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, the agency said in a monthly report. That's a rise of 0.4 percent from September. Economists had expected the rate to rise to between 9.9 percent to 10 percent.
In a glimmer of good news, the department said job losses in September were 219,000, a decline from an earlier estimate of 263,000.
Construction, manufacturing and retailing got the brunt of the losses, with cuts of 62,000; 61,000 and 40,000 respectively. Health care companies added 29,000 jobs and education added 16,000; while the number of temporary workers grew by 34,000.
The underemployment rate rose to 17.5, the highest level since at least 1994. The figure includes part-time workers, the jobless, and people who have given up looking for work.
The manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 33 hours and average hourly earnings rose a nickel, or 0.3 percent, to $18.72. Average hourly wages have risen 2.4 percent in the past year. The report was produced by surveying 400,000 business establishments.
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