The American economy shed another 663,000 jobs in March, the government reported Friday, bringing the toll of job losses during the recession to 5.1 million.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate climbed to 8.5 percent from 8.1 percent in February, its highest levels in a quarter-century, as employers raced to cut their payroll costs. It was the 15th consecutive month of job losses.

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The agency also drastically revised the job losses in January to 741,000 from the earlier report of 655,000, but left February's job loss estimate of 651,000 unchanged.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/business/economy/04jobs.html?hp