US unemployment rate hits 10.2 percent

US unemployment continued to rise in October. Bloomberg reports:

The unemployment rate in the U.S. jumped to 10.2 percent in October, the highest level since 1983, casting a pall over the prospects for a sustained recovery and risking further erosion of President Barack Obama’s popularity.

Payrolls fell by 190,000 last month, more than forecast by economists, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The jobless rate rose from 9.8 percent in September. Factory payrolls dropped by the most in four months, and the average workweek held at a record low...

Today’s report contained some bright spots. Revisions added 91,000 to payroll figures previously reported for September and August, and the number of temporary workers rose by 34,000, the third consecutive gain.

Unemployment also rose in Canada in October. From Bloomberg:

Canadian employers unexpectedly fired workers in October and the unemployment rate rose more than forecast, suggesting the U.S.’s largest trading partner hasn’t fully recovered from the recession that began last year.

Employment fell by 43,200 last month, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa, and the jobless rate rose to 8.6 percent from September’s 8.4 percent. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 10,000 gain in jobs and an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent.

There was some positive economic data from Europe though. Bloomberg reports that German factory orders rose for a seventh month in September.

Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, advanced 0.9 percent from August, when they gained a revised 2.1 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. Export orders jumped 3.7 percent in September. Overall orders were still 13.1 percent lower than a year earlier.