Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.1%

Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.1%
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: September 5, 2008

The unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, its highest level in five years, as the erosion of the job market accelerated over the summer.

Employers cut 84,000 jobs last month, more than economists had expected, and the Labor Department said that more jobs were lost in June and July than previously thought.

So far, 605,000 jobs have disappeared since January. The unemployment rate, which rose from 5.7 percent in July, is now at its highest level since September 2003...

...Manufacturing jobs were hammered again in August, with 61,000 workers losing their jobs. Nearly 60,000 administrative workers, including secretaries and temp workers, were laid off.

Gains came in the education and health care industries, which added a total of 55,000 jobs. But those gains were offset by loses at restaurants, auto dealers and factories that make parts for cars and other transportation equipment...