December 10, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment rose in November

Employment dropped sharply for the second month in a row in November, and the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent.

Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, November 1998-November 2001
[Chart data—TXT]

The number of unemployed persons increased by 419,000 to 8.2 million in November and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point. The jobless rate in November was at its highest level since August 1995.

Since October 2000, when both measures were at their most recent lows, unemployment has risen by 2.6 million and the unemployment rate has increased by 1.8 percentage points, of which 1.4 percentage points have come since the beginning of the recession in March.

The unemployment data are a product of the Current Population Survey. Find out more in "The Employment Situation: November 2001," News release USDL 01-453.