The White House released the September jobs report on Friday, which showed that the U.S. economy added 661,000 jobs in September and unemployment dropped by 0.5% for the month.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread closures, the U.S. has gained 11.4 million jobs, recovering nearly 52% of the jobs lost in March and April due to the pandemic. Along with the jobs added, employment in July and August was revised upward by a combined 145,000, according to officials.
The notable job gains include more than 318,000 in leisure and hospitality, more than 142,000 in retail trade, more than 89,000 in professional and business services, some 74,000 in transportation and warehousing, and more than 66,000 in manufacturing. This also includes 26,000 construction industry jobs, officials said.
An estimated 68% of job gains over the past five months occurred in relatively low-wage sectors including retail, leisure & hospitality, and education & health services.
As of Friday, the country’s unemployment rate was 7.9%. Unemployment has fallen 6.8% since April.
— Mitchell White
