The unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage point to 5.9 percent in September, its lowest level in more than six years. During the past 12 months, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons have declined by 1.3 percentage points and 1.9 million, respectively. The labor force participation rate declined 0.1 percentage point to 62.7 percent, as the labor force declined by 97,000. Though the labor force participation rate has been essentially unchanged since April when it was 62.8 percent, September’s number is its lowest since 1978.
