In a major setback for the economy, the nation’s jobless rate jumped to 9.8 percent in November as employers added surprisingly few new jobs over the month, the government said Friday.
The unemployment rate had been at 9.6 percent in the prior three months. The increase last month came as employers added just 39,000 jobs in November — a sharp drop-off from a revised 172,000 job gains in October and an average monthly gain of 86,000 this year. Get the full story »