August Unemployment Hits Five-Year High

U.S. payrolls plummeted in August as the unemployment rate soared to 6.1%, tying a 2003 record, the Labor Department said Friday.

Jobs fell by 84,000, the eighth straight monthly decline, after a drop of 51,000 in July. Total job losses for 2008 are now 605,000.

Economists had forecast a 75,000 drop for August. The unemployment rate was ex-pected to hold at 5.7%, Bloomberg News said.

Factory payrolls fell 61,000 after declining by 38,000 in July. Economists had forecast a 35,000 drop in factory jobs, Bloomberg reported.

Service jobs cut 27,000 workers after shedding 12,000 jobs in July, Labor said.