Unemployment Rises to Highest Level Since 1983; 263,000 Jobs Cut in September

Oct. 2, 2009— -- The nation's unemployment rate in September rose to 9.8 percent, its highest level since June 1983, as 263,000 jobs were cut from payrolls, the Labor Department announced Friday.

The 263,000 jobs lost during the month were far more than most economists had expected. The consensus forecast was that around 175,000 jobs had been shed in September.

"One job lost is one job too many," said Vice President Biden this morning, flanked by chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Christina Romer; OMB Director Peter Orszag; Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers; and Executive Director of the Middle Class Task Force Jared Bernstein.

The vice president tried to project optimism that the Obama Administration's policies are having a positive effect on the economy.

"As bad as things are they would be far worse without the recovery plan," and other economic measures put in place this year, Biden said.

Biden used the word "bad" four times. "Today's bad news does not change my confidence in the fact that we are going to recovery," he said.

Noting that the jobs lost in the third quarter of this year was an improvement from the first quarter, Biden said that was not enough.

"We don't think that less bad is good. Less bad is not our measure of success," he said.