WASHINGTON, D.C., September 5-The unemployment rate rose from 5.7% to 6.1% in August, and non-farm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. In August, employment fell in manufacturing and employment services, while mining and health care continued to add jobs. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, over the month.

The number of unemployed persons rose by 592,000 to 9.4 million in August, and the unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage point to 6.1%. During the last 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points, with most of the increase occurring over the past 4 months.