January Unemployment Rises to 7.6 Percent

U.S. unemployment surged in January to 7.6 percent, the highest since 1992, as 598,000 jobs were cut, the Labor Department reported Feb. 6.

The number of job losses for the recession-hobbled economy was the worst since 1974, according to the monthly Labor Department report on nonfarm payrolls, seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum.

The department also revised up its estimate of December job losses to 577,000 from 524,000.

Payroll employment has declined by 3.6 million since the start of the recession in December 2007, with around one-half of the decline in the past three months.