Unemployment at 6-Year High; Analysts Expect Hiring to Trail Economic Recovery
The nation's jobless rate jumped to 5.7 percent last month, the highest level in more than six years, as the recession drove employers in most industries to shed workers and cut costs.</br></br>Nearly a half million people joined the ranks of the unemployed in November, bringing the total to 8.2 million, the Labor Department reported yesterday.</br></br>The increase from 5.4 percent in October was evidence of the continued sharp deterioration of the job market since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. As the economy slowed over the past year, unemployment had been rising slowly, from a three-decade low of 3.9 percent in October 2000, before shooting up in the past two months, when 1.1 million more people lost their jobs.</br></br>The layoffs continued even as signs mounted that the recession that began last spring may be close to running its course, according to several forecasters, some of whom have begun predicting that the economy may start growing again early next year.</br></br>Even if the recession does end soon, many forecasters expect the unemployment rate to continue rising for several months, reaching 6.5 percent or so next year before it begins to come down. That's because at the end of a slump, as demand picks up, employers can usually boost production without having to hire more workers, which they usually don't want to do until they are sure how strong the recovery will be.