jobs report

Fewer jobs were added to the economy last month even as the unemployment rate fell to 8.4%. Job growth has slowed since June in a sign of what could be a long and painful recovery from the recession.

Another 881,000 people applied for state unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department says. That's down from the previous week, but the report comes with an asterisk.

U.S. employers added 1.8 million jobs in July, down from 4.8 million the month before. The unemployment rate inched down to 10.2%.

As Congress debates whether to renew supplemental unemployment benefits for people thrown out of work by the pandemic, new research shows those benefits offer a critical boost for the U.S. economy.

Applications for jobless benefits are up again. "What we're seeing now is that lots more people who are unemployed are going to be unemployed for a longer period of time," economist Nick Bunker says.

The unemployment rate fell to 11.1%. But there are indications that the job growth has slowed recently amid a surge of new coronavirus infections.

Another 1.5 million people file for unemployment benefits for the first time, but the number who are continuing to seek the payments continues to decline as workers return to their jobs.

The pain in the job market continues as an additional 1.5 million sought unemployment benefits last week. In the past 12 weeks, more than 44 million new claims have been filed.

The president intimates that George Floyd, killed by police, would be happy with the lower than expected unemployment rate.

U.S. employers unexpectedly added jobs last month as the unemployment rate declined, signs that people are returning to work as states reopen their economies. President Trump celebrated the news.