Unemployment Rate Highest in 26 Years

The Labor Report for June was released today revealing that employers cut about 62,000 jobs in the previous month. According to NPR.org, this is the sixth straight month that employers have trimmed payrolls. The unemployment rate overall had a slight increase from May's rate of 9.4 percent to June's 9.5 percent.

In addition to the rate change the number of newly laid-off people signing up for unemployment insurance also increased. NPR.org reported that applications rose from 16,000 to 404,000, the highest level since late March.

Some sectors that actually gained jobs in the previous month included education, health services, leisure and hospitality, and government. Most of these sectors have remained relatively "recession proof" throughout the economic downturn.

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