Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in August (-216,000),
and the unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported. Although job losses continued in many of the
major industry sectors in August, the declines have moderated in recent
months.

In August, the number of unemployed persons increased by 466,000 to 14.9
million, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 9.7
percent. The rate had been little changed in June and July, after in-
creasing 0.4 or 0.5 percentage point in each month from December 2008
through May. Since the recession began in December 2007, the number of
unemployed persons has risen by 7.4 million, and the unemployment rate
has grown by 4.8 percentage points. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men
(10.1 percent), whites (8.9 percent), and Hispanics (13.0 percent) rose
in August. The jobless rates for adult women (7.6 percent), teenagers
(25.5 percent), and blacks (15.1 percent) were little changed over the
month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 7.5 percent, not seasonally
adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)