国际英语新闻：U.S. unemployment rate jumps to 8.1% in February

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The unemployment rate in the United States jumped to 8.1 percent, the highest level since late 1983, as employers slashed 651,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

    The February reading was above the 7.9 percent rate that economists had expected, and the 7.6 percent rate in January.

Job seekers line up to enter the job fair at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Manhattan, New York, the United States, March 5, 2009.

The net loss of 651,000 jobs was near economists' expectations for a 648,000 drop in non-farm payrolls.

    According to revised figures, the economy lost 681,000 jobs, the most since October 1949, in December and another 655,000 in January, both larger than initially estimated.

    Since the start of the recession in December 2007, payroll employment has declined by 4.4 million jobs, with more than half occurring in the last four months.

People seek for job opportunities at a job fair held by the job website Monster.com at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Manhattan, New York, the United States, March 5, 2009. According to the Labor Department report, the country's economy shed 651,000 nonfarm jobs in February, and the unemployment rate shot up to 8.1 percent, the highest level in 25 years

"In February, job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors," the Labor Department said.

    In February, the manufacturing sector shed 168,000 jobs while the construction industry lost 104,000 jobs. The service industry slashed 375,000 jobs while employment in the retail trade industry fell by 40,000 during the month.

    Professional and business services shed 180,000 jobs while financial companies reduced payrolls by 44,000. Leisure and hospitality firms cut 33,000 positions.

A job seeker fills a form at a job fair held by the job website Monster.com at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Manhattan, New York, the United States, March 5, 2009

Only government, education and health services added jobs last month.

    The weakness in the labor market comes as the economic recession deepens. In the final quarter of 2008, the economy contracted at an annual rate of 6.2 percent, the worst showing in a quarter-century.

    The economy will probably continue to shrink during the first six months of this year, economists said.