March 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. unemployment rate jumped in February to 8.1 percent, the highest level in more than a quarter century, a surge likely to send more Americans into bankruptcy and force further cutbacks in consumer spending.
Employers eliminated 651,000 jobs, the third straight month that losses surpassed 600,000 -- the first time that’s happened since the data began in 1939, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Revisions for the prior two months lopped off an additional 161,000 positions.
