Jobless rate hits five-year high

Looking for a job?

You may be pounding the pavement longer than you think because numbers released today show that nationwide unemployment hit a five-year high in August, with employers cutting another 84,000 jobs.

That was worse than an anticipated 75,000 jobs cuts, bringing the U.S. unemployment rate to 6.1 percent in August compared with 5.7 percent the previous month.

Lisa Barnhouse, 32, of La Puente knows how tough the current job market is. Barnhouse used to work in the customer service department at an Acura dealership, but that position was axed when the business was sold.

She did manage to snag a seasonal job as a ticketseller at this year's L.A. County Fair, but she's still looking for something more permanent.

"Jobs used to be a dime a dozen ... but now I can't find anything," she said.

Here's more detail:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.
 
The Labor Department's report, released Friday, showed the increasing toll the housing, credit and financial crises are taking on the economy.

The report rattled Wall Street again. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 40 points in midday trading. All the major stock indexes tumbled into bear territory Thursday as investors lost hope of a late-year recovery. With the employment situation deteriorating, there's growing worry that consumers will recoil, throwing the economy into a tailspin later this year or early next year.

The jobless rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, from 5.7 percent in July. And, employers cut payrolls for the eighth month in a row. Job losses in June and July turned out to be much deeper. The economy lost a whopping 100,000 jobs in June and another 60,000 in July, according to revised figures. Previously, the government reported job losses at 51,000 in each of those months.

So far this year, job losses totaled 605,000.