The Day at a Glance | September 4 2020

The Top

· Employment in the US in line with estimates during August: 1.4M jobs created, unemployment at 8.4%.

· Around 52% of jobs lost during April in Mexico have been recovered in the last 3 months, most of them informal.

· Pelosi and Mnuchin agree to avoid a government shutdown in October; they have still not agreed on a new fiscal package.

· A Brexit agreement is less likely to occur; negotiations on hold due to aid control and government subsidies.

Economic environment

Official figures published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed that 1.4 million new jobs were created during August, a slowdown with respect to previous months, but still a firm recovery. With this, the unemployment rate fell to 8.4% with a total of 13.6 million unemployed people; much lower than the 9.8% estimated by analysts. The unusual fall could be explained by the temporary hiring of employees by the government for the 2020 Census. Wages increased slightly to 4.7% annual (4.5% e.). The improvement in the labor market continues to reflect the effects of the reopening, with the greatest gains in retail trade, professional and business services, leisure and lodging, education and health services. What stands out, however, is that the figures reflect a faster than expected return of temporarily suspended workers because of the pandemic, but the number of workers that have lost their jobs permanently is still rising.