Wall Street extended early losses Friday, as the U.S. government reported the unemployment rate increased to a nearly 16-year high and wholesale inventories continued to decrease.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate rose from 6.7 percent in November to 7.2 percent in December, the highest level since early 1993, as employers slashed 524,000 jobs in the last month of 2008. Economist had expected the rate of seven percent. Moreover, the economy in 2008 lost 2.6 million jobs, the most since 1945.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that wholesale inventories dropped 0.6 percent in November and sales were down a record 7.1 percent. The decline indicated that businesses are struggling against the severe recession.

The Dow Jones fell 92.15 to 8,650.31. Broader indexes also moved lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 13.56 to 890.17; and the Nasdaq slipped 33.31 to 1,583.70.

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2009)