Area Development
The U.S. economy lost more than 240,000 jobs in October, bringing unemployment to its highest level in more than 14 years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The economy has now lost 1.18 million jobs since January. The only sectors reporting job gains for October were government and education/health services. The manufacturing sector lost 90,000 jobs, the largest single-month loss since July 2003. Other sectors reporting losses include services (108,000 jobs lost), construction (49,000), and retail (38,100). The Labor Department also revised September unemployment figures to 284,000, a sharp rise from the 159,000 previously reported.