Four Straight Months of Lost Jobs

September's official unemployment report is out and it's not great news: the nation shed 95,000 nonfarm jobs last month and the unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent, according to government data released this morning. That's the fourth straight month the nation has shed jobs.

Earlier this week, two independent surveys hinted at what the government found. A report by Automatic Data Processing, showed private sector employers cut 39,000 jobs last month—a reversal from August when the private sector added 10,000 jobs the month before.

Another report—this one from outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, Inc.—said employers also planed for more job cuts. The report found that employers said they would cut 37,151 jobs in September, a 7 percent increase from August's 34,768 job cuts.

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