Economy Adds 1.4 Million Jobs in August in Early Sign of Recovery

The economy added 1.4 million jobs in August and new jobless claims fell below one million last week as the U.S. labor market hints at a gradual recovery from the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 881,000 initial unemployment claims were filed during the week ending August 29, the Labor Department said Thursday, beating economists’ projections of 950,000 new claims.

Last week marks a decrease of 130,000 new claims from the prior week’s 1.011 million initial claims. Continuing claims also fell dramatically by 1.24 million, sinking...