U.S. unemployment hits 9.8%, 263,000 jobs cut in September

The unemployment rate has risen to 9.8 percent in the United States. That number does not include those who have given up looking for employment or are underemployed. Jobs losses in Sept. especially high in construction and government sectors.

Forbes reports that there is "A Jobs Crisis" in America. This disturbing Oct. 2 headline appeared after it was announced that the unemployment rate in the United States hit 9.8 percent. 263,000 jobs were lost in September, "bringing the total number of unemployed to 15.1 million" according to Forbes. That number, however, does not include people who have given up looking for jobs and consider themselves essentially unemployed. When those who consider themselves unemployed and those who are underemployment are taken into consideration, the unemployment rate is 17 percent. The Department of Labor defines underemployment as people working part time but want full-time employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that some sectors of the economy may be stabilizing. Forbes reports that the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated the following: "The number of jobs in financial activities, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and information showed little or no change over the month" Among the sectors with the largest losses are: *64,000 lost jobs in construction *51,000 lost jobs in manufacturing *39,000 lost jobs in retail trade *53,000 fewer government jobs, mostly in local government The additional 263,000 jobs lost in September is larger than the 201,000 jobs lost in August, but an improvement over the 304,000 reported job cuts in July. The Wall Street Journal notes that "the unemployment rate, calculated using a survey of households as opposed to companies, grew 0.1 percentage point to 9.8%. Just last year, in July 2008 for example, the unemployment rate was under 6%." Further, the WSJ indicates that the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.6 million since the start of the recession in December 2007. Moreover, the unemployment rate has doubled to 9.8%. What could be considered an almost pathetic improvement is that average hourly earning increased by one penny over last month. Average hourly earning for September were reported to be $18.67, according to the WSJ.