The latest employment numbers were supposed to be awful. It turns out, they were even
worse than expected.
The American economy lost another 240,000 jobs in October, the government reported Friday morning, the 10th consecutive monthly decline and a clear signal that an accelerating slowdown is assailing households and businesses.
The unemployment rate climbed to 6.5 percent , the highest level since 1994 and up from 6.1 percent the month before.
Adding to the gloom was a steep downward revision in payroll numbers for September. The Labor Department said that employers slashed 284,000 jobs that month, far higher than the 159,000 that was initially reported.
CNN's report
added, "The economy has lost more than a million jobs in a year for the first time since 2001 -- the last time the economy was in a recession."
Democratic leaders in Congress are poised to move forward on another stimulus package, which would include an extension of unemployment benefits and food stamps, with an emphasis on new infrastructure spending. Bush has threatened a veto.
We'll see if the latest data affects the president's thinking on the subject.
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