Jobless Rate Climbs to 8.1%, 25-Year High

(CN) - The U.S. lost 651,000 jobs in February, following declines of 681,000 in December and 655,000 in January. Since the recession began in December 2007, job losses have totaled 4.4 million, well more than half of which occurred in the past 4 months. In February, the unemployment rate climbed from 7.6 to 8.1 percent, the highest rate in over 25 years.