United States Unemployment Rate Soars to Highest Percentage in 26 Years

Millions of Americans are continuing to feel the wrath of our nation's devastating economic downturn as evidenced by the latest unemployment rate statistics that have been released by the U.S. Department of Labor earlier this morning. According to The New York Times, the unemployment rate rose from 9.8 percent in September to 10.2 percent in October.

10.2 percent is the highest unemployment rate in the United States in 26 years and The New York Times is reporting that expert economists are not expecting the rate to decrease by a significant margin until 2010 at the earliest. Congress made a pro-active decision prior to the U.S. Department of Labor's announcement of the updated unemployment rate by extending benefits for jobless individuals for an additional 20 weeks.

While the unemployment rate is undeniably staggering, the underemployment rate that was released by the U.S. Department of Labor is equally as alarming. The underemployment rate, which includes those who are unemployed, part-time employees and individuals who have given up their job search, has reached its highest percentage in 15 years at 17.5 percent.

Economic expert Allen Sinai provided a comment in response to the unveiling of the updated unemployment rate, saying, "There's no doubt that the slashing and burning of jobs has abated quite a lot. The economy is recovering, but it is a very soft recovery. You can't force businesses to use their profits to hire."