The Labor Department reported the economy added 1.4 million jobs in August and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.4%.
This is a huge drop from July, which saw a 10.2% unemployment rate.
Considering where we were in March and April, the economy is humming along again. The economy is growing, people are starting to get back to work, etc:
The unemployment rate was by far the lowest since the coronavirus shutdown in March, according to Labor Department figures released Friday. An alternative measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons also fell, down to 14.2% from 16.5% in July and 22.8% at the peak in April.Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting growth of 1.32 million and the jobless rate to decline to 9.8% from 10.2% in July.“It’s another great day for American jobs and American workers,” Vice President Mike Pence told CNBC. Pence added that the job growth and the single-digit unemployment rate is “real evidence that the American comeback is underway.”Markets rose sharply on the news, with Dow futures pointing to a gain at the open following an aggressive sell-off Thursday.
Retail added 249,000 jobs. Professional and business services added 197,000 jobs.
The coronavirus pandemic hit leisure and hospitality the hardest. That sector saw 174,000 new jobs in August. The majority of those new jobs came in bars and restaurants.
So while indoor dining can only have a certain amount of people inside it still means the business needs people to serve and wait on people.
Unemployment seemed to fall across the lines:
The unemployment rate for Black people fell 1.6 percentage points to 13% while the rate for Asians declined to 10.7% and the Hispanic level slid 2.4 percentage points to 10.5%.
More good news from the Labor Department:
The labor force participation rate increased by 0.3 percentage point to 61.7 percent in August but is 1.7 percentage points below its February level. Total employment, as measured by the household survey, rose by 3.8 million in August to 147.3 million. The employment-population ratio rose by 1.4 percentage points to 56.5 percent but is 4.6 percentage points lower than in February. (See table A-1.)In August, the number of persons who usually work full time rose by 2.8 million to 122.4 million, and the number who usually work part time increased by 991,000 to 25.0 million. Part time workers accounted for about one-fourth of the over-the-month employment gain. (See table A-9.)
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