Reporting from Washington-- As the nation's unemployment rate surged to 10.2% in October, reaching double digits for the first time in 26 years, President Obama signed a measure today providing additional aid for the jobless as well as expanding and extending a home buyer tax credit to help spur economic growth.

"The need for such a measure was made clear by the jobs report we just received this morning," Obama said at the White House. He called the Labor Department figure released today "a sobering number that underscores the economic challenges that lie ahead."

The unexpectedly sharp increase in the unemployment rate, from 9.8% in September, came as employers dropped 190,000 workers from their payrolls last month. That was larger than the 175,000 job losses that most forecasters were expecting for the month, and it underscored just how dire the labor market remains despite the recent upturn in the nation's economic output.