"Unemployment Rate Hits 5 Percent" Highest since Novenber 2005

Unemployment Rate Hits 5 Percent
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
37 MINUTES AGO

WASHINGTON - Hiring practically stalled in December, driving the nation's unemployment rate up to 5 percent, a two-year high. The new figures fan fears the economy could slide into a recession.

Last month, employers added the fewest new jobs to their payrolls in more than four years, said the jobs report released Friday by the Labor Department. The report also showed that employment conditions are deteriorating, strained by a housing slump and credit crunch that are sapping economic strength.

The unemployment rate jumped from 4.7 percent in November to 5 percent in December, the highest since November 2005 after the Gulf Coast hurricanes dealt the country a mighty blow. Payrolls _ both private employers and government _ grew by just 18,000 last month, the worst showing since August 2003, when the economy suffered job losses as it struggled to recover from the 2001 recession.

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but prop up the stock market to give the appearance that all is well.