• September total sharply higher than economists' forecasts
• Jobless rate approaching 10% after 21st consecutive monthly drop

American employers cut 263,000 jobs last month, pushing the US unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.8%, in a worse-than-expected set of figures which fuelled anxiety that stimulus efforts are failing to strengthen the ailing labour market.

The number of job losses sharply exceeded a consensus forecast among economists of around 187,000 for September, and the figure was significantly worse than a revised figure of 201,000 losses in August.

It was the 21st consecutive monthly drop in jobs, providing a stark reminder that the economic crisis is far from over. The unemployment rate ticked up by a tenth of a percentage point from August's figure of 9.7%.

"The number came in weaker than expected," Kevin Caron, a market strategist at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co, said. "We saw a lot of artificial involvement by the government to prop up the markets, and now that that is starting to end, the private sector isn't yet showing signs of life."

Among the weakest sectors were construction, hit by plunging property prices, where 64,000 jobs disappeared. Employers cut 51,000 manufacturing jobs and 39,000 retail positions. Among the few areas showing an increase in employment was healthcare, where 19,000 jobs were added.

Since the economic downturn began at the end of 2007, the number of jobless people in the US has risen by 7.6 million to 15.1 million. Rapidly approaching double digits, the rate of unemployment is at its highest since June 1983, when it reached 10.1%.

The gloomy numbers took their toll on Wall Street, where traders are already in poor spirits following a slump in stocks yesterday. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 41 points in early trading at 9467. It dropped yesterday by 203 points to 9509 on the first day of October, its worst session since early July.

In London, the FTSE 100 index extended its early falls after the data was released, and was down by 55 points, or 1.1%, at 4992 by 3pm.

With President Barack Obama's $787bn (£500bn) economic stimulus effort well under way, there have been hopes in recent months that the US economy has reached a turning point. The Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke remarked two weeks ago that the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s was "very likely over" from a technical perspective, although he warned that it would take time for an increase in activity to feed through to the jobs market.

guardian.co.uk

United States unemployment rate stands at 9.80 percent of the labor force. The labour force is defined as the number of people employed plus the number unemployed but seeking work. The nonlabour force includes those who are not looking for work, those who are institutionalised and those serving in the military. The economy of the United States is the largest in the world. The United States is a market-oriented economy where private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions. The federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace.

American employers cut 263,000 jobs last month, pushing the US unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.8%, in a worse-than-expected set of figures which fuelled anxiety that stimulus efforts are failing to strengthen the ailing labour market.

The number of job losses sharply exceeded a consensus forecast among economists of around 187,000 for September, and the figure was significantly worse than a revised figure of 201,000 losses in August.

It was the 21st consecutive monthly drop in jobs, providing a stark reminder that the economic crisis is far from over. The unemployment rate ticked up by a tenth of a percentage point from August's figure of 9.7%.

"The number came in weaker than expected," Kevin Caron, a market strategist at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co, said. "We saw a lot of artificial involvement by the government to prop up the markets, and now that that is starting to end, the private sector isn't yet showing signs of life."

Among the weakest sectors were construction, hit by plunging property prices, where 64,000 jobs new york asian escortClean website! disappeared. Employers new york asian escortsClean website! cut 51,000 manufacturing jobs and 39,000 retail positions. Among the few new york escortsClean website! showing an increase in employment was healthcare, where 19,000 jobs new york escortClean website! were added.

Since the economic downturn began at the end of 2007, the number of jobless people in the US has risen by 7.6 million to 15.1 million. Rapidly approaching double digits, the rate of unemployment is at its highest since June 1983, when it reached 10.1%.

The gloomy numbers took their toll on Wall Street, where traders are already in poor spirits following a slump in stocks yesterday. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 41 points in early trading at 9467. It dropped yesterday by 203 points to 9509 on the first day of October, its worst session since early July.