Companies in the United States are shedding more jobs, pushing the country's unemployment rate to a 26-year high of 9.8 percent.The U.S. Labour Department said Friday that employers cut 263,000 jobs in September, with companies in the service industries, including banks, restaurants and retailers, hit especially hard.The United States has now lost 7.2 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. The new data is sparking fears that unemployment could threaten an economic recovery.Top U.S. officials have warned that any economic recovery would be slow and uneven, and some have predicted the U.S. unemployment rate will top 10 percent before the situation improves.