The consequences of the credit crisis are starting to make themselves manifest:
The American economy lost another 240,000 jobs in October, the government reported Friday morning, the 10th consecutive monthly decline and a clear signal that an accelerating slowdown is assailing households and businesses.
The unemployment rate climbed to 6.5 percent , the highest level since 1994 and up from 6.1 percent the month before.
Adding to the gloom was a steep downward revision in payroll numbers for September. The Labor Department said that employers slashed 284,000 jobs that month, far higher than the 159,000 that was initially reported.
Since August, the economy has lost 651,000 jobs — more than three times as many were lost from May to July. So far, 1.2 million jobs have been lost this year.
“Clearly, these are very bad numbers,” said Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist at IHS Global Insight.
That would be a big “Thank You, Captain Obvious.”
