Unemployment Tops 10 Percent for First Time Since 1983

The U.S. economy shed 190,000 jobs in October, sending the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, the highest number in 26 years, the Department of Labor said Friday. The jobless rate is up from 9.8 in September, and the Department of Labor revised the number of jobs slashed in September from 213,000 to 263,000.

The report comes a day after Congress voted to extend unemployment benefits. According to CNN, 7.3 million people have lost their jobs since the start of 2008, and 5.6 million have been unemployed for six months or longer.

Some economists have predicted that unemployment will reach 10.5 percent in the first half of 2010.