Employers cut 159,000 jobs in September, the biggest drop in more than five years, according to federal data released Friday.
The number exceeded economists’ expectations of 100,000 jobs lost. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged last month at 6.1 percent, after jumping from 5.6 percent in August, according to the Department of Labor report, and the number of unemployed people was little changed at 9.5 million.
In the last year, the number of unemployed individuals has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 points.
