When the unemployed stop looking for work, they are no longer counted in the jobless rate.
More than a half-million Americans resumed their job searches in August, which drove up the jobless rate. The unemployment rate for August ticked up to 9.6 from 9.5 percent in July, rising for the first time in four months. State and local governments shed 10,000 positions. Overall, the economy lost 54,000 jobs in August, partly because 114,000 temporary census positions came to an end.
