UNEMPLOYMENT REACHES 9.7%

HIGHEST RATE IN 26 YEARS
MARKET WATCH: The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.7% in August as nonfarm payrolls fell by 216,000, the 20th consecutive monthly decline, the Labor Department estimated Friday. U.S. payrolls have dropped by 6.9 million to 131.2 million since the recession began in December 2007, the government data showed. Unemployment has increased by 7.4 million during the recession to 14.9 million. . . . READ MORE

• LABOR DEPARTMENT REPORT

FINANCIAL TIMES: The US unemployment rate has more than doubled in the past two years . . . Job losses were widespread across industries that produce goods, with construction and manufacturing losing 65,000 and 63,000 jobs respectively . . . READ MORE

POLITICO: August may be over, but it's causing one last headache for the Obama administration as the jobless rate jumped up to 9.7 percent, the highest point yet this recession and higher than what economists expected from the monthly report. . . . "The number that's going to matter to most people is the unemployment rate, and 9.7 percent is disconcerting," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com . . . READ MORE