Unemployment soars; biggest rise in jobless rate in 33 years

The unemployment rate soared to 5.5 percent in May in the biggest increase in seasonally adjusted unemployment in 33 years, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The unemployment rate rose from 5.0 to 5.5 percent last month, and 49,000 jobs were lost, the fifth straight month of job losses for the U.S. economy. The number of unemployed persons increased by 861,000 to 8.5 million in May, the largest increase since January 1975.

The new numbers represent a total of 1.6 million jobs lost in the past year. A year ago, there were 6.9 million unemployed, and the jobless rate was 4.5 percent, according to the Labor Department.

Jobs were lost last month in many different sectors, including construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and temporary help services, while the health care field actually added jobs. 

The unemployment rate for blacks was 9.7 percent, almost double the rate for whites (4.9 percent). The jobless rate for Hispanics was 6.9 percent last month, and for Asians it was 3.8 percent.

The Labor Department also reported that the number of people who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more increased by 197,000 to 1.6 million.  This group accounted for 18.3 percent of the unemployed in May. 

Senator Barack Obama's campaign responded by calling the news "deeply troubling" and "a reminder that working families continue to bear the brunt of the failed Bush economic policies that John McCain wants to continue for another four years."

But Senator John McCain's campaign responded by laying the blame on Democratic policies. "The wrong change for our country would be an economic agenda based upon the policies of the past that advocate higher taxes, bigger government, government-run health care and greater isolationism," said McCain. "To help families at this critical time, we cannot afford to go backward as Senator Obama advocates," he said in a statement.