Hiring slowed sharply in August as employers added a disappointing 235,000 jobs, with COVID-19 surges dampening both consumer demand and Americans’ willingness to return to work.
Restaurants and bars, which had been driving record employment gains, shed jobs.
The unemployment rate, which is calculated from a different survey, fell from 5.4% to 5.2%, the Labor Department said Friday.
Economists had estimated that 750,000 jobs were added last month, according to a Bloomberg survey.
