Employers in the US slashed as many as 5,33,000 jobs in November, reportedly the highest employment losses in 34 years, as the world's largest economy reeled under a severe financial crisis.
The unemployment rate jumped to a 15-year high of 6.7 per cent last month, reflecting the strained labour market which has seen massive layoffs by many corporate giants.
"Non-farm payroll employment fell sharply (-533,000) in November, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 per cent," the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is part of the US Labor Department, said today in a statement.
The job losses, which widespread across major sectors, are reportedly the worst since December 1974.
Moreover, since the start of recession in December last year, as concluded by the National Bureau of Economic Research, 1.9 million people lost their jobs and two-thirds of the losses happened in the last three months.
"Total non-farm payroll employment fell by 5,33,000 in November, bringing losses to 1. 9 million since the start of the recession in December 2007. Two-thirds of these losses occurred in the last three months," the statement noted.
Since the beginning of recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed people rose by 2.7 million while the jobless rate increased by 1.7 percentage points.
{{/usCountry}}Since the beginning of recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed people rose by 2.7 million while the jobless rate increased by 1.7 percentage points.
{{/usCountry}}According to the data, the jobless rate for Asians reached 4.8 per cent in November. In addition, jobless rates for teenagers was at 20.4 per cent, whites (6.1 percent), blacks (11.2 percent), and Hispanics (8.6 percent).
The unemployment rates for adult men stood at 6.5 per cent and that of adult women at 5.5 per cent in November.