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After giving a soft performance in August, the labor market came back strong in September, knocking the national unemployment rate down below the 6.0 percent mark for the first time in more than six years. According to the latest monthly figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation added 248,000 jobs in September, bringing employment growth back above 200,000 after an unexpected drop in August. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal predicted the economy would add 215,000 jobs last month.
With the latest estimate, the government puts the U.S. unemployment rate at 5.9 percent, its lowest since July 2008. This represents a decline of 0.2 percentage points from the 6.1 percent rate that was reported for August. The number of unemployed persons nationwide fell by 329,000 down to 9.3 million from August to September. Industries that experienced notable job growth in September were business services, retail trade, and health care.
A federal judge ruled that Wells Fargo and Citigroup's mortgage unit must face a consumer lawsuit that claims the two lenders inaccurately reported consumers' credit information to credit reporting agency Experian, which is also named as a defendant in the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the two lenders reported short sales, which are sales of homes at risk of foreclosure for less than the balance of the mortgage, as foreclosures or bankruptcies to credit agencies when updating consumers' reports and then failed to correct the mistakes. A spokesman from Citi denied the allegations, and a spokesman from Wells Fargo said his organization is "prepared to present its arguments in court."
