US - Labor Market - August BLS Report

Data Highlights:

Unemployment Rate: 8.1%

Non-farm Payroll Employment: + 96,000

Number of Long-Term Unemployed: 5 million (40% of the unemployed)

Labor Force Participation Rate: 63.5%

Employment-Pop Ratio: 58.3%

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The Unemployment Rate and the Payroll Jobs Number

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/09/07/why-did-the-unemployment-rate-drop-8/

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/09/07/five-key-takeaways-from-jobs-report/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-07/payrolls-in-u-s-rose-96-000-in-august-jobless-rate-falls.html

Politics and Data Revisions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/august-jobs-number-is-likely-wrong-and-a-puzzle-for-politics/2012/09/07/f7f3c31c-f85d-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_story.html

Declining Male Labor Force Participation Rate

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/09/07/men-see-lowest-participation-rate-on-record/

The Natural Rate of Unemployment (gated article)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443686004577635652468415814.html