UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR MARCH HITS 5.1%

Employers cut 80,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate climbed to 5.1%, the highest rate since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was felt in September 2005. This is the third consecutive month of job losses (the fourth if you only include private non-governmental jobs). So far this year 232,000 jobs have been lost.

From The New York Times:

The nation’s employers eliminated tens of thousands of jobs for the third month in a row, the government reported Friday, and top Democrats immediately called for new measures to help suffering American workers.

After the early-morning report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that 80,000 jobs had disappeared in March, the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said she would propose a second economic stimulus package. Hers would supplement the $150 billion measure that includes the mailing of tax rebates to millions of Americans beginning next month.