Good news! The unemployment rate is 6.1 percent

This morning, we reported that most everybody expected an employment report that added quite a few jobs:

The U.S. Labor Department’s monthly employment report for August is expected to show some improvement in the job market from July. The consensus among economists is for 230,000 jobs to have been added to private and public-sector payrolls.

Instead, only 142,000 jobs were added in August, making it the worst month since December 2013.

So, what does that mean for the unemployment rate?

The unemployment rate from January 2008 through August 2014.

Raghu Manavalan/Marketplace

Fewer jobs added and lower unemployment.