U.S. loses jobs for 4th straight month

The American economy lost 95,000 non-farm jobs in September, the U.S. Labour Department reported Friday, surprising analysts who had expected little change.

It was the fourth straight month of declines.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 9.6 per cent. The U.S. jobless rate has remained above 9.5 per cent for 14 consecutive months. That's the longest such stretch since the 1930s.

The private sector created a weaker-than-expected 64,000 jobs last month.

Overall employment fell, as public sector jobs declined with the end of thecensus. Local governments also cut jobs.

Almost 14.8 million Americans wereunemployed last month.