WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. unemployment rate fell sharply in August to 8.4% from 10.2% even as hiring slowed, with employers adding the fewest jobs since the pandemic began.Employers added 1.4 million jobs, the Labor Department said Friday, down from 1.7 million in July.
The U.S. economy has recovered about half the 22 million jobs lost to the pandemic.RELATED: Unemployment claims fall to 881,000 but layoffs remain elevatedFriday’s report from the Labor Department added to evidence that nearly six months after the coronavirus paralyzed the country, the economy is mounting only a fitful recovery.