Us jobless rate rises to 4 year high

US jobless rate rises to 4-year high

Picture: (AFP/File/Shawn Thew)- A sheet of one dollar bills. The dollar has gained against the euro but slipped against the yen today as traders await crucial US jobs data amid renewed jitters about the health of the world’s largest economy.

The U.S. unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 5.7 percent in July as employers cut 51,000 jobs, dashing the hopes of an influx of young people looking for summer work.

Payrolls cuts, however, were not nearly as deep as the 72,000 economists were forecasting. And, job losses for both May and June were smaller than previously reported.

July’s reductions marked the seventh straight month where employers eliminated jobs. So far, this year, the economy has lost a total of 463,000 jobs.

The latest snapshot, released by the Labor Department today, showed that employers remain cautious as a lack of credit stunts their expansion plans and willingness to hire. Fallout from the housing slump and high energy prices also are weighing on employers.

The increase in the unemployment rate to 5.7 percent, from 5.5 percent in June, in part came as many young people streamed into the labor market looking for summer jobs.

the government says this year, however, fewer of them were able to find work,. The unemployment rate for

teenagers jumped to 20.3 percent, the highest since late 1992.

MRN-AP

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