U.S. unemployment rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent in Decenber 2008

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: DECEMBER 2008

2008's total job loss 2.6 million, the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945.
Nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply in December, and the unemployment
rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment fell by 524,000 over the
month and by 1.9 million over the last 4 months of 2008. In December, job losses
were large and widespread across most major industry sectors.
Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

In December, the number of unemployed persons increased by 632,000 to 11.1 mil-
lion and the unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent. Since the start of the reces-
sion in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has grown by 3.6 million,
and the unemployment rate has risen by 2.3 percentage points. (See table A-1.)

The unemployment rates for adult men (7.2 percent), adult women (5.9 percent),
and whites (6.6 percent) increased in December. The jobless rates for teenagers
(20.8 percent), blacks (11.9 percent), and Hispanics (9.2 percent) were little
changed over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 5.1 percent in Decem-
ber, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed tempo-
rary jobs rose by 315,000 to 6.5 million in December. Over the past 12 months, the
size of this group has increased by 2.7 million. (See table A-8.) The number of
long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose to 2.6 million in
December and was up by 1.3 million in 2008. (See table A-9.)

See all 2008 tables on this link