Jobless rate tops 10 percent for first time since '83

By The Associated Press

Photo by Steven Senne / AP

Jahaira Perez, right, and Takela Lawrence, both of Providence, R.I., examine job listings at a state managed employment center. Perez is unemployed after being laid off in May from her job as a cashier at a supermarket, while Lawrence is looking for a second job as a school crossing guard.

ADVERSTISMENT

WASHINGTON — The nation’s unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since April 1983 — and it is likely to climb higher.

The 10.2 percent jobless rate for October shows how weak the economy remains even though it is growing. Rising unemployment also could threaten the recovery if it saps consumers’ confidence and makes them more cautious about spending as Christmas approaches.

The economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday, more than economists had expected. The number of unemployed hit 15.7 million, up from 15.1 million.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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