6.51 lakh jobs lost in US in February

The US economic bleeding extended in February with 651,000 jobs lost and the unemployment rate surging to 8.1 percent, according to data Friday highlighting an ever-deepening recession.
The number of job losses was in line with most forecasts but underscored the dire state of the economy as companies axe jobs to cope with an intensifying slump.
The Labor Department also revised heavily upward its estimates for losses for the previous two months -- 655,000 in January from 598,000, and 681,000 in December from 577,000. The figures showed December's losses as the worst on record since October 1949, officials said.