Sept. 1 (UPI) —The United States experienced an increase of 187,000 jobs in August, leading to a rise in the unemployment rate to 3.8%, according to the report released by the Labor Department on Friday. President Joe Biden praised the job growth under his administration during his live speech from the White House.
The data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the number of jobs added to non-farm payrolls in August was lower than the average monthly gain of 271,000 observed over the past year. The unemployment rate reached 3.8%.
President Biden delivered his remarks on the jobs report through a live stream from the White House.
He highlighted that since taking office, 13.5 million jobs have been created. President Biden stated, “America is currently experiencing one of the most robust periods of job creation in our history. It was not long ago that America was losing jobs. In fact, my predecessor was one of only two presidents who left with fewer jobs than they started with.”
Biden further noted that all the jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic have been recovered, with an additional one million jobs being created. He also highlighted that the unemployment rate was 6.3% when he took office, and for 19 consecutive months under his administration, America’s jobless rate has remained below 4%.
President Biden emphasized that the unemployment rate for women is now the lowest it has been in 70 years.
He also expressed his support for union jobs, emphasizing their positive impact on workers. Biden stated, “Unions increase workers’ income, promote home ownership, retirement savings, and reduce inequality, which ultimately strengthens the American economy.” He referred to a report from the Treasury Department to support his statement.
Biden highlighted the importance of the middle class and unions in building America. He stated, “Wall Street did not build America, it was the middle class and unions that built this country.”
Addressing concerns about inflation and unemployment, Biden stated, “I have never believed that the problem lies in working people making too much money.” He pointed out that America now has the strongest economy, the lowest inflation among advanced economies, and has created 13.5 million new jobs.
In August, the healthcare sector added 71,000 jobs, while the leisure and hospitality industry added over 40,000 jobs. Nursing and residential care facilities added 17,000 jobs, and hospitals added 15,000 jobs. The construction industry also saw an increase of 22,000 jobs.
On the downside, the transportation and warehousing sectors lost 34,000 jobs in August. Additionally, couriers and messengers lost 9,000 jobs. The Labor Department attributed the drop of 17,000 jobs in the motion picture and sound recording industries to strike activity.
The increase in unemployment occurred as 514,000 Americans lost their jobs in August, bringing the total number of unemployed individuals to 6.4 million. This could be indicative of a weakening job market due to high interest rates implemented to combat inflation.
These statistics follow the monthly report published by private payroll processor ADP, which showed that the private sector added 177,000 jobs in August. The figure was significantly lower than the 324,000 jobs added in July, suggesting a potential plateau in hiring.
Comparatively, a year ago, 6 million people were jobless, and the unemployment rate stood at 3.7%.
