U.S. Jobless Rate Hits Two-Year High at 5.7%

America’s unemployment rate posted its third consecutive increase in September, rising to 5.7%, the government reported today, as the economy continued to flash warning signals of an impending recession.

California’s jobless rate jumped to 5.9% from 5.4% in August.

The 0.1-percentage-point increase nationwide pushed the jobless rate to its highest level since the spring of 1988, and private economists predicted even higher unemployment figures in the months ahead, reflecting a deteriorating U.S. economy.

More industries lost jobs than gained them in September, causing an overall loss of 101,000 jobs from non-farm payrolls, the Labor Department said. About 42,000 of those were census workers laid off by the government.

It marked the first time since the 1981-82 recession that the unemployment rate increased three months in a row, the government said.

While the Bush Administration continues to insist that the country can avoid a recession, a growing number of economists think the country has either already entered a recession or will be in one before the end of the year.

“It’s an economy that’s started the slide down the slippery slope,” said Robert Dederick, chief economist at the Northern Trust Co. of Chicago. “The weakness has become more diffused, which is characteristic of an economy losing ground.”

Janet Norwood, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, noted the weakness in September’s jobs data had hit factories and service industries alike.