A mixed pre-election jobs report shows rising unemployment, slowed hiring

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A month before Election Day, the Labor Department reports slowed hiring and a U.S. unemployment rate that fell to 7.9%.

The last jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is mixed with employers adding just 661,000 jobs last month amid the coronavirus outbreak, down from 1.5 million in August and 1.8 million in July. However, unemployment fell from 8.4% in August, but that mainly reflected a decline in the number of people seeking work, rather than a surge in hiring.

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