U.S. unemployment at 25-year high, 12.5 million people jobless

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to a 25-year high of 8.1 percent in February as employers shed 651,000 jobs in the deepening recession, government data showed on Friday, Mar. 6. A total of 12.5 million people were unemployed in February, the Labor Department said.

February's jobless rate was the highest since December 1983 and was a half percentage point above January's 7.6 percent.

Since the recession started in December 2007, the economy has shed 4.4 million jobs.
Companies struggling with falling revenues and tight profit margins are axing jobs in huge numbers, forcing households to further scale back spending, creating a vicious cycle.

The Obama administration has been rolling out a $787 billion stimulus package to try to break the economy's frightening downward spiral.