> The Department of Labor reported Friday the unemployment rate increased from February’s 8.1 percent to the current 8.5 percent as employers cut 663,000 jobs from payrolls, the fifth straight month with losses of 600,000 or more. A total of 5.1 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007. The number of jobs lost and the unemployment rate in March were as forecast. [The Business Journal of Milwaukee:](http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/03/30/daily73.html?surround=lfn)