Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.8%, Lowest Since 2009

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BLS logoAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the national unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, the lowest rate since January 2009. This decline comes just days after President Obama and GOP Candidate Mitt Romney went back-and-forth on job creation and unemployment, one of the largest issues facing Americans during the Presidential Debate Oct. 3.

With 114,000 new jobs added, the unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percent from August’s 8.1 rate. This put 456,000 of the 12.1 million unemployed Americans back to work. Most of the new jobs were in health care, transportation and warehousing. Health care added 44,000 jobs last month and employment in health care has risen by 295,000 jobs over the last year. Transportation and warehousing added 17,000 new jobs in September.

Few jobs came from most other major industries including mining and logging, construction, wholesale trade, retail trade, information, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and government. Employment growth has averaged 146,000 jobs per month this year, compared with an average monthly gain of 153,000 in 2011.

By Shala Marks