US adds just 235,000 jobs in August as Delta variant spreads

Unemployment rate declines by 0.2 percentage points to 5.2% from 5.4% in July as employers cut back hiring plans

The US economy added just 235,000 jobs in August, a sharp drop from preceding months, as employers cut back hiring plans amid the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus virus.

The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage points to 5.2% from 5.4% in July and has fallen dramatically from a high of 14.7% in April last year. So far this year, monthly US job growth has averaged 586,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.