
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 5, 1991                   TAG: 9104050711
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

JOBLESS RATE SURGES

The nation's jobless rate shot up to 6.8 percent in March, its highest level in more than four years, as the number of Americans joining the ranks of the unemployed since last summer swelled to 2 million, the government said today.

The 0.3 percentage-point rise in the civilian jobless rate, up from February's rate of 6.5 percent, marked the fifth straight month the unemployment rate has increased, the Labor Department said. It was the second consecutive month that joblessness surged by 0.3 percentage point.

Since unemployment first began climbing last summer, when it was a relatively low 5.3 percent, about 2 million Americans have been added to jobless rolls. In March alone, about 410,000 people joined the unemployment line, the Labor Department said.

Today's report also showed that payrolls fell by 206,000 in March, marking the sixth straight month that U.S. businesses have cut jobs. It has been the worst stretch of mass layoffs since the 1981-82 recession. Since last September, the number of payroll jobs has declined by 1.3 million.

The job loss number can differ from the number of newly unemployed because the two figures are derived from different surveys. In addition, the number of newly unemployed includes both people who were laid off in a given month and people who returned to the labor force but were unable to find jobs.

The Labor Department also revised its February job loss number, saying that 290,000 jobs were cut, a far worse drop than the 185,000-job loss first reported.

Analysts had been bracing for yet another bleak unemployment report, and said it would deal a blow to hopes for a speedy end to the recession, despite more favorable data from last week showing a rebound in consumer confidence and the housing market.

"What used to be an incredible job-creating machine, the U.S. economy, is now chewing up jobs left and right, eliminating them," said Allen Sinai, chief economist at the Boston Co.

"No one should kid themselves. This is an old-fashioned, tough recession. . . . A quick end is not in sight," Sinai said.

Washington policy-makers have been hoping that the quick end to the Persian Gulf War would spell a quick end to the recession by boosting consumers' confidence. However, private analysts say that even if that does occur, businessmen won't start rehiring workers for several months, until a recovery is well under way.

Unemployment could hit well over 7 percent and put another 500,000 Americans out of work before the economy turns around, these analysts predict.

by CNB