Graph of the Day: US Unemployment Rate, 1960-2009

From Calculated Risk: And from CNN: Unemployment hits 25-year high Jobless rate hits 8.1% in February as a record-high 12.5 million people are unemployed.

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The U.S. economy continued to hemorrhage jobs in February, bringing total job losses over the last six months to more than 3.3 million, and taking the unemployment rate to its highest level in 25 years. The government reported Friday that employers slashed 651,000 jobs in February, down from a revised loss of 655,000 jobs in January. December’s loss was also revised higher to a loss of 681,000 jobs, a 59-year high for losses in one month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of 650,000 jobs in February. “The economy is headed south with a vengeance,” said Kurt Karl, head of economic research for the U.S. unit of insurer Swiss Re.