Jobless Rate Hits 10.4%, Topping September Record: Unemployment Jumps ...
The nationÛªs unemployment rate jumped to 10.4 percent in October, topping the September figure that shattered a 42-year record, as the number of jobs dropped sharply and layoffs climbed further, the Labor Department reported yesterday.</br></br>There are now 11.6 million Americans out of work, with full-time adult workers particularly hard hit by the recession and a growing number of long-term unemployed, the report showed.</br></br>Û¢ Democrats and union leaders issued an immediate call for swift action to relieve unemployment, which AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland called ÛÏan economic and social disaster.Û</br></br>The depressed state of the economy and record unemployment levels were major factors behind the Democratic gains- in TuesdayÛªs elections, analysts say.</br></br>However, President Reagan opposes any new emergency measures, remaining confident that his present economic policies will bring down unemployment ÛÏin the near future,Û the White House said yesterday.