Gallup: Unemployment rate in US grows to 8.6% for August

Amid deep economic stagnation, the US unemployment rate jumped to 8.6 percent in August, according to Gallup data.

The unemployment rate rose from 7.8 percent in July to 8.6 percent in August, Gallup weekly average revealed. When counting the underemployed, the rate spikes to 17.7 percent.

Figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is statistically more rigorous, put the jobless rate at 7.4 percent in July, mainly because many job seekers have stopped looking for work.

Gallup’s data is based on a 30-day rolling average. The organization says, “Because results are not seasonally adjusted, they are not directly comparable to numbers reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which are based on workers 16 and older.”

The new figure has sparked concern about what the government’s report will reveal next week.

The Labor Department reported last week that more than half of US states had an increase in their unemployment rates in July, reflecting slow economic growth and a frustratingly weak job market.

Moreover, most of the jobs created in the US during the month of July were either part-time or low-paying jobs.

Three out of four of the nearly 1 million people hired by US businesses this year have been working part-time or paid low wages, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

US median income has declined by 7.2 percent since 2000, underscoring the lasting damage wrought by the economic downturn, a new report released Wednesday by Sentier Research said.