New jobless figures point to growing election issue

The nation's jobless rate is expected to break 10 percent when September's unemployment figures are released Friday, placing even greater emphasis on unemployment in the November elections, industry and labor economists say.

New quarterly figures for so-called discouraged workers, those who have given up seeking a job, may also reach a record high. The last report in July showed a new high of 1.5 million discouraged workers, continuing the steady increase since the 1980 recession.