White House sees unemployment hitting 10 percent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday it still expected the U.S. unemployment rate to hit 10 percent this year, despite new jobless figures showing a drop in unemployment in July compared to the previous month.

The unemployment rate eased to 9.4 percent in July from 9.5 percent the previous month, according to Labor Department data, the first time the jobless rate had fallen since April 2008.

The White House has been predicting for days that jobless figures on Friday would show unemployment jumping, despite signs that the recession-hit U.S. economy was turning around.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, editing by Ross Colvin)