U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement on the August 2020 Employment Situation Report:
“Today’s jobs report is encouraging news for American workers heading into Labor Day. The report significantly beat expectations, with the unemployment rate dropping to 8.4 percent even as more Americans entered the labor force. Unemployment fell across all demographics, and the 1.4 million jobs added showed increases across most industry sectors. This follows a string of other reports showing a strong recovery underway. The Administration remains focused on returning millions more Americans to work, and providing additional support to the unemployed through the Lost Wages Assistance Program authorized by the President when Congress failed to act on enhanced unemployment benefits.”