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Unemployment rate breaks record

Unemployment in the United States is at its lowest level since 1969. In August 2019, the U.S. added 136,000 non-farm payrolls. The unemployment rate stands at just 3.5%, a fifty-year low.

President Donald Trump credited his administration for the positive numbers, using the low unemployment rate to attack Democrats who launched an impeachment inquiry against him in September.

“Unemployment Rate just dropped to 3.5%, the lowest in more that 50 years. Is that an impeachable event for your President?” Trump tweeted.

But experts are worried that wages aren’t rising at a similar rate, and that low wages could lead to another economic downturn. According to Business Insider, the economy in many states is becoming more “polarized,” with more people earning either low incomes or high incomes. Meanwhile, the middle class continues to shrink.

“America’s middle-income jobs–such as those in construction, production, and repair–are disappearing as wage polarization sets in,” Business Insider reported. “The New York Federal Reserve detailed the trend in a December 2018 report, showing the state’s labor force becoming more saturated in low and high-income roles in the years since the 2008 crisis…as it’s more difficult to scale the job ladder than descend it, many of the workers have been forced into lower-paying roles. The trend may explain the slowing wage growth seen nationwide.”