Another 1.4 million payroll jobs were added in August, which means that about one-half of the total job losses due to the coronavirus shutdowns have now been made up. The unemployment rate fell 1.8 points to 8.4%, the second-largest drop on record (after June).
The market, obviously, is not impressed. But hopefully wage earners and voters will be.
The next big economic report will be on GDP growth in the 3rd quarter, which will be released in October and probably will record the biggest quarterly GDP increase ever. These data points will all support President Trump’s theme that America is undergoing a strong recovery that would be threatened by the Democrats’ frankly crackpot schemes. But in the end, voter perceptions of their own experiences and well-being will presumably be most important.
