History may very well repeat itself:

May 2, 9:57 AM EDT

Unemployment Rate Rises to 6 Percent

By LEIGH STROPE
AP Labor Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 6 percent in April and companies slashed jobs for the third straight month - particularly in manufacturing, airlines and department stores - as the fragile economy continued to quash hiring prospects.

Last month's jobless rate was up two-tenths of a percentage point from March, with payrolls falling by 48,000, the Labor Department reported Friday. Those figures matched economists' expectations.

The economy has lost more than half a million jobs in the past three months as the number of unemployed workers surged to 8.8 million. Nearly 2 million people have been jobless for 27 weeks or more.

"There's just no denying that these are an awful set of job figures for April," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics in Clevela