SLOWLY BUT SURELY

Unemployment Rate Falls Below 10 Percent for First Time Since Pandemic Lockdown

The jobless rate now stands at 8.4 percent.

The U.S. economy added 1.4 million jobs in August, lowering the unemployment rate to less than 10 percent for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic sowed economic chaos in March. The jobless rate now stands at 8.4 percent, with at least 13.6 million people out of work. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics warned that the unemployment rate could be o.7 percent higher in reality due to difficulties in collecting accurate data about furloughed workers during the pandemic. A large number of the new jobs were made up of government employment, including the hiring of around 238,000 temporary 2020 Census workers. The retail sector added 249,000 jobs in August, and leisure and hospitality added 174,000 jobs. Both sectors have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic.