News release: “Nonfarm payroll employment changed little (-54,000) in August, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 9.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Government employment fell, as 114,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work. Private-sector payroll employment continued to trend up modestly (+67,000). The number of unemployed persons (14.9 million) and the unemployment rate (9.6 percent) were little changed in August. From May through August, the jobless rate remained in the range of 9.5 to 9.7 percent. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men (9.8 percent), adult women (8.0 percent), teenagers (26.3 percent), whites (8.7 percent), blacks (16.3 percent), and Hispanics (12.0
percent) showed little change in August. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted.”

• WSJ: Private Sector Adds 67,000 Jobs U.S. Economy Lost 54,000 Jobs in August; Unemployment Rate Rises to 9.6%. See also the related interactive graphics: Who’s Hurting [by Sector, Gender/Race – covers period of December 2007 to current]
• New York Times: “The former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, who retired last week after 40 years at the central bank, says that the economy is in “a slow slog out of a very deep hole,” and that the Fed should consider additional stimulus unless the recovery shows signs of “decent progress.”
• The Employment Situation in August, Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
• Related postings on financial system