Jobs

Jobs Report Beats Estimates but Remains in Deep Hole

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday morning that U.S. nonfarm employment rose by 661,000 in September and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9%. Consensus estimates had called for employment to increase by 894,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to come in at 8.2%. In August, the U.S. unemployment rate was 8.4%.

In September, 19.4 million people reported that they had been unable to work at all or only to work fewer hours because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic. While that is an improvement from 24.2 million who reported similar coronavirus-related losses in August, the total remains stubbornly high.

About 4.5 million people reported that they were unable to look for work due to the pandemic, again fewer than the 5.2 million in August, but still high.

The labor participation rate fell from 61.7% in August to 61.4% where economists had been looking for an increase to 61.8%.  The BLS noted that the rate is 2 percentage points below the February reading.

Among worker groups, the unemployment rate fell for adult men (to 7.4%), adult women (7.7%), whites (7.0%) and Asians (8.9%), while it remained mostly unchanged for teenagers (at 15.9%), Blacks (12.1%) and Hispanics (10.3%).

A recent study from McKinsey and Company reported than more than one in four women are considering leaving their jobs or changing their career plans due to the pandemic. Co-author Jess Huang noted, “We see that mothers are really struggling. We see that senior women are feeling burnt out, exhausted, like they always have to be on, and we’re seeing that Black women are having additional challenges on top of challenges they already faced in the workplace.”

Friday’s report on the employment situation is the last ahead of the November election and does not particularly bode well for the president. When Trump took office in 2017, the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.8%.

The nation’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic remains roughly K-shaped, with some groups faring reasonably well and others suffering more.

Want to Retire Early? Start Here (Sponsor)

Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?

Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.

Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.

 

Have questions about retirement or personal finance? Email us at [email protected]!

By emailing your questions to 24/7 Wall St., you agree to have them published anonymously on a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

By submitting your story, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.