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Thousands of Jobs Lost After Katrina

At least 35,000 jobs are lost according to a September report from the U.S. Dept. of Labor as the jobless rate rose to 5.1 percent from 4.9 percent after the deadly and costly Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

The job losses were much less severe than the 150,000 feared by Wall Street economists in the wake of Katrina`s devastation. In addition to the better-than-expected September results, payrolls in July and August were revised higher by a total of 77,000 jobs. Job growth has averaged 194,000 per month over the past year.

What the exact figures are for lost jobs as a result of the recent Gulf Coast hurricanes was not yet full totaled, but figures should include the wider regional job losses from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, and not just those jobs lost in the areas directly hit.