The nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since late 1983, as a wide range of employers eliminated a net total of 663,000 jobs.

The Labor Department’s report is fresh evidence of the toll the recession has inflicted on America’s workers and companies.

The latest tally of job losses was slightly higher than the 654,000 that economists expected. The rise in the unemployment rate matched expectations.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the report on March employment would be gloomy. He says he did not know if Obama had been given a heads-up about the numbers but thinks that the president probably did get advance word.

Presidents are traditionally given advance word on major economic reports.

(Source: Associated Press)