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December 5, 2011

Official Unemployment Rate Hits Lowest Mark Since March 2009 
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The official U.S. unemployment rate has reached its lowest level in two
and a half years. The Labor Department says the jobless rate is now at
8.6 percent, the first time it's been below nine percent since March
2009. The U.S. also added 120,000 jobs last month, higher than expected.
Despite the figures, the percentage of the unemployed who have gone
without jobs over the long-term increased to 43 percent, while the total
percentage of adults in the workforce fell to 64 percent.



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