Unemployment rate declines to 8.4 percent as economy adds 1.4 million jobs

The U.S. unemployment rate has dipped below 10 percent for the first time during the coronavirus crisis.

The Labor Department on Friday said the unemployment rate in August declined to 8.4 percent, while the economy added 1.4 million jobs, per The Washington Post. Economists had been anticipating the unemployment rate would decline to 9.8 percent and that 1.32 million jobs would be added, CNBC reports.

Still, Axios notes that "the pace of hiring has dropped off" after in July, the economy added 1.7 million jobs, and in June, 4.8 million jobs were added.

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This was the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began that the U.S. unemployment rate has been below 10 percent the Post notes. But "America is still down 11.5 million jobs from February," CNN notes, and The Associated Press writes that Friday's report shows that "the economy is mounting only a fitful recovery" amid the pandemic. NPR also notes that the job gains in August were "boosted by the temporary hiring of 238,000 workers" for the 2020 census.

"We are in the hole by millions," economist Martha Gimbel told The Wall Street Journal, "and the longer we stay in that hole, the more people will suffer."