Economy Loses 533,000 Jobs in November

The U.S. economy lost 533,000 jobs in November, the worst single month since late 1974, and the result was even worse than most analysts had expected.

On average, forecasts had called for a decline of around 335,000, according to Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate rose to 6.7% from 6.5% in October, a 15-year high.

Job losses were widespread, hitting factories, construction compaines, financial firms, retailers, leisure and hospitality, and others industries. The few places where gains were logged included the government, education and health services.

While more jobs were lost than expected, the rise in the unemployment rate wasn't as steep as the 6.8% rate predicted. Taken together, though, the employment picture was dismal.

Job losses in September and October also turned out to be much worse. Employers cut 403,000 jobs in September vs. 284,000 previously estimated. Another 320,000 were chopped in October, compared with an initial estimate of 240,000.

Meanwhile, several major companies have announced thousands of job cuts this week, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote), Bank of America (BAC Quote), DuPont (DD Quote), AT&T (T Quote) and Credit Suisse (CS Quote).

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