The August unemployment numbers were released today. In a word: Yikes! Here's what the Financial Times had to say:

"Fears about the health of the US economy were reignited on Friday after data showed that the unemployment rate spiked unexpectedly to 6.1 per cent - the highest in five years - as employers shed 84,000 positions in August, the eighth consecutive month of job losses.

The figures from the labor department were significantly worse than economists were expecting. Forecasts had on average predicted the unemployment rate would rise slightly to 5.8 per cent while the economy lost 75,000 jobs."

A subtler reminder that the labor market is deteriorating would have been enough to convince investors that the US economy faces a tough road ahead. The bottom line is we're nowhere near the end of the housing crisis, financials are still floundering, and consumer spending is likely to stay sluggish in the months to come...

It'll be interesting to see what the presidential contenders have to say about this. The Democrats have been trying to push a second stimulus package through Congress, so stay tuned! I'll keep you posted...