The unemployment rate in the US rose again in August and job creation slowed, a paradoxical positive sign as the fight against inflation implies an economic slowdown and the labor market is still in excellent shape, writes AFP.

In a tweet, President Joe Biden emphasized that the labor market “remains strong” and that “even more Americans are returning to work.” He welcomed this “great news”.

The unemployment rate rose in August for the first time since January to 3.7 percent, the Labor Department said on Friday. This fell to 3.5% in July compared to February 2020, shortly before the economy was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The increase in the unemployment rate is also due to the fact that many workers who left the labor market due to the pandemic returned last month, with the participation rate increasing by 0.3 points to 62.4%. However, this is still 1 point below the pre-pandemic level.

Women, in particular, are making a comeback after mostly taking a break from work over the past two and a half years due to issues with caring for children or the elderly.

“Two key indicators of access to opportunity … surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time in February 2020 for women ages 25 to 54,” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said in a statement.

However, job creation slowed sharply to 315,000 jobs from 526,000 in July (revised downward).

“Despite rising unemployment, the U.S. labor market continues to be strong,” said Anne Elizabeth Konkel, economist at job site Indeed.