27 million hit by US jobs crisis

As unemployment rate tops 9.8 percent

by Patrick Martin
Global Research, December 5, 2010

The US unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in November, the highest in seven months, and an indication that the economic slump that was triggered by the September 2008 Wall Street crash has far from run its course.

November was the 19th consecutive month that more than 9 percent of the labor force were out of work, the longest span since the federal government began reporting such figures after World War II.

The number of workers classified as unemployed rose back above the 15 million mark in November, to 15.1 million. Of these, 6.3 million have been out of work for more than six months. The average time spent out of work before finding a new job rose to 33.8 weeks.

An additional 2.5 million people are classified as “discouragedâ€