The U.S. unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent in October — a 26-year high, according to recent figures from the Labor Department.

The country shed 190,000 jobs in September, even as other economic indicators have pointed to a recovery from the recession. President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill that would extend unemployment benefits up to an additional 20 weeks and extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Republican critics of the Obama administration are pointing to the double-digit unemployment rate as proof that the $787 billion stimulus package is failing; meanwhile, labor unions and some Democrats are calling for more spending to create jobs, according to the New York Times.

The highest level of unemployment came at the end of 1982, when it hit 10.8 percent, reported the Times.

After four weeks of increases, the price of crude oil flattened this week, trading at around $71 a barrel, according to Bloomberg News.

Led by rising oil prices, stocks lifted 75 points in early June, with energy and financial companies posting the largest gains. The markets also rallied after data released in early June showed that the number of workers claiming unemployment benefits dropped for the first time this year.

Though most economic indicators are pointing upward, the demand for petroleum in the United States dropped 6 percent in the past four weeks. But traders are buying crude and other commodities as protection against possible inflation and a weaker dollar, said the Associated Press.

Crude oil prices have risen 60 percent this year and reached a seven-month high of $73.23 on June 11, Bloomberg said.