Unemployment climbs to 9.7 percent in August

The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 9.7 percent in August, as employers cut 216,000 jobs last month, a new report from the Labor Department showed, signaling that the job market remains volatile despite recent data that show the U.S. economy is recovering.

The increase in the unemployment rate to 9.7 percent was higher than analyst expectations at 9.5 percent. In July, the rate fell unexpectedly to 9.4 percent from 9.5 percent in June. In August, the number of Americans looking for work jumped by 466,000 to 14.9 million, the government said Friday.