August 2020 Employment Situation — 2020-09-04

(NOTE: BLS reissued this news release on September 23, 2020, to address minor data errors associated with the introduction in January 2020 of a new occupation classification system. The corrections affected a limited number of historical data series presented in tables A-8 and A-9 of this release; for these series, the impact was negligible. Most major series, including the official unemployment rate, were not affected. Estimates in the BLS online database were corrected for January�July 2020. For more information on these corrections, see www.bls.gov/bls/errata/revision-to-current-population-survey-estimates-for-January-through- July-2020.htm.) Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.4 million in August, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. In August, an increase in government employment largely reflected temporary hiring for the 2020 Census.