September 2020 Jobs Report

Unemployment Rate: 7.9 percent

Jobs Created: 661,000

Employment and Unemployment          

1. The Department of Labor bases monthly jobs reports on a survey of businesses and a survey of households. The survey data relate to the pay period or calendar week containing the 12th day of the month. The report generally will not reflect labor market changes near the end of the month.

2. As of mid-September, more than half of the states had reopened or were continuing reopening plans, while the rest had paused their plans or placed new restrictions on certain types of businesses to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

3. DOL reported the unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage point to 7.9% in September.

4. Nonfarm jobs increased by 661,000 in September.

5. In July and August, job creation was stronger than originally reported. The department revised the change in nonfarm jobs for those months up by a combined 145,000 jobs.          

6. The U-6 unemployment rate, a broader measure that includes part-time and discouraged workers, dropped 1.4 percentage points to 12.8% in September.

Labor Force Participation

1. The labor force participation rate, the share of people employed or looking for work, fell 0.3 percentage point to 61.4%.

Wages

1. In September, average hourly earnings for all employees in private nonfarm jobs edged up by $0.02 to $29.47.