Unemployment at 7.8%, Lowest in Obama's Term

The unemployment rate dropped to 7.8% last month, its lowest level since January 2009—meaning it's now officially lower than it was when President Obama took office, the Wall Street Journal reports. Today's jobs report also shows that 114,000 jobs were added; consensus had been 118,000 jobs added and a stable 8.1% unemployment rate.

Steven Russolillo notes that while this is a good sign, it's not amazing news: We're still averaging just 143,000 jobs per month this year, compared to 153,000 last year, and economists think we need to hit 200,000. Even so, more positive news: August job gains were revised upward to 142,000 from 96,000, meaning that bleak report wasn't actually quite so bleak, and July's numbers were revised upward to 181,000 from 141,000. (More jobs stories.)