US Unemployment Rate Enters 8% Range for First Time Since COVID-19 (Update)

Job Increase of 1.37 Million... Exceeds Expectations
Employment Recovery Pace Slows Down

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. employment data for August exceeded expectations. The unemployment rate dropped below 10% to 8.4%.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 4th (local time) that the number of jobs increased by 1.37 million in August. This surpassed the expert forecast of 1.32 million compiled by Dow Jones.

Monthly Job Growth Trends in the United States

Compared to the previous month, the job growth rate slowed. In July, 1.73 million jobs were added. Although 20 million jobs disappeared in April, U.S. employment has shown an increasing trend for four consecutive months since then. CNBC reported that the job increase in August means that half of the workers who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic have returned to work.

The unemployment rate also fell to 8.4%, dropping below 10% for the first time since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). This is 1.4 percentage points lower than the expert forecast of 9.8% compiled by Dow Jones. However, it remains a concerning situation compared to the 3.5% unemployment rate recorded in February.

One-quarter of the job increase in August occurred in the government sector. 344,000 jobs were created in the government. In the private sector, 240,000 jobs were created in the distribution field.

CNBC introduced that although positive indicators have continued recently in manufacturing, service, and real estate sectors, there are concerns that the economic stimulus effect may soon disappear if additional stimulus measures are not passed by Congress.

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