With more companies resorting to layoffs, the number of people who became unemployed reached 467,000 in June, according to the US Labour Department.
The jobless rate touched 9.5 per cent last month, the highest since 1983. "Non farm payroll employment continued to decline in June (-467,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.5 per cent," the Labour Department said in a statement on Friday.
Since the country officially slipped into recession in December 2007, about 7.2 million people have turned jobless while the unemployment rate has shot up by 4.6 percentage points.
In May, the jobless rate stood at 9.4 per cent and the same has been steadily rising since January this year.
"The number of unemployed persons (14.7 million) and the unemployment rate (9.5 percent) were little changed in June," the statement said.
In June, employment in the manufacturing sector dropped by 136,000 while that in the construction segment declined by 79,000.