US jobless rate declined to 8.4% in August, extending rebound

[WASHINGTON] The US labour market rebound extended for a fourth month in August, offering hope that the economy can continue to recover despite a persistent pandemic and Washington's standoff over further government aid to jobless Americans and small businesses.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 1.37 million, including the hiring of 238,000 temporary Census workers, according to a Labor Department report Friday. The unemployment rate fell by more than expected, by almost 2 percentage points, to 8.4 per cent.

The dollar and yields on 10-year Treasuries rose after the report, while US stock futures pared losses.

The median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 1.35 million gain in nonfarm payrolls and an unemployment rate of 9.8 per cent.

BLOOMBERG