How ironic that, on the long Labour Day weekend, American employment was found to have exploded in the previous month.
Figures released by the U.S. Labor Department Friday revealed that non-farm payrolls increased by 1.37 million in August and the unemployment rate tumbled to 8.4% as the U.S. economy continued to climb its way out of the pandemic downturn.
The figures also showed the unemployment rate was by far the lowest since the coronavirus shutdown in March. 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.
Government hiring helped boost the total, with the growth of 344,000 workers accounting for a quarter of the monthly gain. Most of that hiring came from Census workers, whose rolls increased by 328,000. Despite worries of a revenue crunch among at the municipal level, local government employment rose by 95,000.
The total of those on furlough south of the border also fell dramatically. There were 24.2 million people who said they not working because their employer either closed or lost business due to the pandemic, down from 31.3 million in July.
