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WASHINGTON — Jobs are vanishing at the fastest pace in more than five years, with pink slips likely to keep stacking higher in the months ahead, an urgent signal the country may be careening toward a deep and painful recession just as Americans prepare to elect a new president.
Employers chopped payrolls by 159,000 in September — more than double the cuts made just one month before.
It was the ninth straight month of job losses. A staggering 760,000 jobs have disappeared so far this year.
The Labor Department’s report, released Friday, also showed that the nation’s unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, up sharply from 4.7 percent a year ago. Over the past year, the number of unemployed people has risen by 2.2 million to 9.5 million.
