Layoffs continue to be high.
The Department of Labor released its job market report on Thursday, showing the addition of 661,000 nonfarm jobs in September. The unemployment rate shows a decrease to 7.9 percent, with gains in the retail and hospitality industries as well as health care and social assistance. The sectors that saw the most decrease in employment last month were government and private education.
The numbers could be slightly skewed due to states processing the backlog of unemployment applicants from the beginning of the pandemic. The Labor department primarily uses these unemployment claims as a proxy for job loss. 11 million Americans are still receiving unemployment benefits – down 1 million from last month.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- That God would help the U.S. economy recover from the economic effects of the pandemic.
- For an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- That the Labor Department would have discernment as it serves the U.S. workforce.
Sources: AP, CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics
