Jobs increase by 194,000 in September; unemployment falls to 4.8%

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 194,000 in September, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.4% to 4.8%. The number of unemployed people fell by 710,000 to 7.7 million. Both measures are down considerably from their highs at the end of

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) decreased by 496,000 in September to 2.7 million but is 1.6 million higher than in February 2020, prior to the pandemic. The long-term unemployed accounted for 34.5% of the total unemployed in September. The full report is here.