Job losses hit record numbers

More grim economic news today, as a Labor Department report announces a total of 240,000 job cuts in this U.S. this October. This brings the year’s total job losses to 1.2 million and the unemployment rate to 6.5%, the highest it has been in 14 years.

Jobs were lost in industries across the board: manufacturing lost 90,000, construction employment lost 49,000 and the hospitality industry cut 16,000 jobs. In business services, economists say there was a 45,000 person drop in employment.