The economy is continuing to recover strongly from the Coronavirus pandemic, with 1.4 million jobs added in August as businesses continue to reopen. The Trump economy has now recovered nearly half of the jobs lost to the Coronavirus pandemic since March.
The unemployment rate dropped nearly two percentage points from 10.4 percent to 8.4 percent, according to the August jobs data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The August jobs numbers again beat estimates, which projected 1.32 million jobs added and a 9.8 percent unemployment rate. The 8.4 percent unemployment rate is by far the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic.
Job creation in May, June, July, and August has met or exceeded industry expectations. In those four months, job creation beat expectations by a combined 12.2 million jobs.
The labor force participation rate increased slightly to 61.7 percent in August. The number of Americans on furlough also dropped by 7.1 million, and Americans on temporary layoff dropped by a third to 6.2 million.
These gains include 249,000 retail jobs, 197,000 professional and business services, and 174,000 jobs in leisure and hospitality as bars and restaurants reopen. The economy also added 29,000 manufacturing jobs in August.
While more work remains to be done, these strong economic indicators show that President Trump’s pro-growth agenda of tax cuts and regulatory relief are the way to recover from the pandemic.
Instead of expanding government, the Trump administration has responded to the pandemic by repealing regulations. All told, over 700 regulations have been suspended or waived at the federal, state, and local level.
Moving forward, if Congress decides further COVID-19 relief legislation is necessary, it should be narrow and targeted in scope. Efforts by Democrats House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass trillions of dollars in further legislation should be rejected.