The U.S. Labor Department on Friday announced that non-farm jobs decreased by 539,000 in April bringing the unemployment rate up to 8.9%, the highest since late 1983. Private sector unemployment rose by 611,000 jobs.
Figures for the months of February and March were both revised up, February from 651,000 to 681,000 and March from 663,000 to 699,000.
Unemployment in the U.S. now hit a new high with around 13.7 million Americans out of a job, up from 13.2 million people in March bringing the total number of jobs shed since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, to 5.7 million.
To be counted as unemployed in the jobs report, a person must not be working currently and must have looked for work in the past four weeks.
The latest unemployment figures show a mild easing of the downward spiral, but are without a doubt still far away from any hope of recovery.
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