Unemployment Rate Rises to 7.2 Percent in December

The recession is marking its tracks as unemployment rose again in December.

According to data released by the Department of Labor Friday, the unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent from 6.8 percent in December. The rise marks a 16 year high for unemployment in the U.S.

A survey of households showed that people seeking unemployment benefits increased by 632,000 to 11.1 million. The survey also showed employment fell by 806,000 in Dec.

The report was worse than what most economists were expecting. Economists expected payrolls to fall by 500,000 and the unemployment rate to rise to 7.1 percent.

Since the beginning of the recession, the figures keep getting worse – the number of unemployed people grew by 3.6 million and the rate has risen by 2.3 percentage points since December 2007.

Labor research shows that payroll employment fell by 524,000 jobs over the past month and by 1.9 million jobs over the past four months. The country has lost a total of 2.6 million jobs in 2008, making last year’s job loss the biggest since 1945.

Chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, Ian Shepherdson told MarketWatch, “Overall, a terrible report. The only possible glimmer of light is that the maximum rate of fall of payrolls is hopefully not far off."