Washington (AP) The government says the nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs.

It's dramatic proof of the damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses.

The labor department's report, released Friday, shows the jobless rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, from 5.7 percent in July. And, employers cut payrolls for the eighth month in a row.

The figures areworse than economists were expecting; they were forecasting the jobless rate to rise to 5.8 percent and a loss of 75,000 jobs.