Hindered by the fact that a total of zero non-farm jobs were created last month, the nation’s unemployment rate held steady at 9.1%, likely stunning analysts who had forecasted growth in the area of 75,000 jobs.
Technically, 17,000 jobs were added in the private sector, but the gains were negated by the loss of 17,000 government jobs. The new numbers reflect data released Friday morning by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The zero-jobs-added figure is terrible news for a weak economy that has been struggling to crawl out of a prolonged recession for months. August marked the first time in over 60 years that the economy failed to generate a single net job, and the country’s employment-to-population ratio has now fallen to 58.2%, its lowest percentage in decades.
Even worse, the report also revised June jobs estimates down from 46,000 to 20,000, and July estimates down from 117,000 to 85,000.
While the Obama administration emphasized not to read too much into a single monthly report, White House economist Katharine Abraham says that the new data signals the need for Congress to adopt the President’s jobs proposal which is set to be unveiled next week.
“The President will lay out a series of additional bipartisan steps that Congress can take immediately to put more money in the paychecks of working and middle class families; to make it easier for small businesses to hire workers; to put construction crews to work rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure; and other measures that will help the economy grow while still reducing our deficit and getting our fiscal house in order,” Abraham said.
President Obama is expected to address the latest report this morning before he heads to Camp David for the next two days.