U.S. Jobless Rate Stays At 7.1 Pct.; Local Unemployment Reported at Highest Level in Nine Years
The nation's economic recession apparently continued last month as employers cut payrolls and the unemployment rate remained frozen at a five-year high, government officials reported yesterday.</br></br>While the U.S. unemployment rate stayed at 7.1 percent, other figures showed the local jobless rate reaching its highest level in nine years, and analysts predicted the Federal Reserve would come under renewed pressure to cut interest rates once more in hopes of kindling a recovery.</br></br>The Washington area unemployment rate jumped 0.3 percentage points to 4.9 percent in December, the highest level of the current economic slump. In 1991, the number of jobs in the region fell 2.1 percent, according to yesterday's figures.</br></br>"It looks to me like the recession is deepening," said Richard Groner, chief of labor market information for the D.C. Department of Employment Services, which compiles the area figures.</br></br>"I think we will see more increases in the unemployment rate," Groner said. "January and February tend to be high-unemployment months." Local employment data is a month behind the national statistics.