Unemployment Increases from 9.8% to 10.2%

The highest level in 26 years (Bloomberg).

The unemployment rate in the U.S. soared to a 26-year high of 10.2 percent in October and employers cut more jobs than forecast, underscoring why Federal Reserve policy makers say interest rates will remain low until the labor market recovers.

Payrolls fell by 190,000 workers last month, compared with a 175,000 drop anticipated by the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. The jobless rate gained from 9.8 percent in September and exceeded 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

Reminder: the unemployment rate was not supposed to exceed 8 percent with the stimulus. We see how well that worked.

But don't worry, the Lapdog Media and the White House says the recession is over.