american businesses added 114,000 new jobs in september and the readings for july and august were revised higher. so, is the labor picture as good as it seems? erika miller takes a closer look at the data and what it says about the u.s. economy. reporter: 3-tenths of a percent does not seem like much. but, when it comes to the nation s unemployment rate, a 3- tenths of a percent drop is actually staggering. the unemployment rate now stands at 7.8 percent. that s the lowest level since january 2009, when president obama took office. even more remarkable is the reason for the drop. the unemployment rate decline was not because people dropped out of the labor force. to the contrary. the labor force actually but the household survey estimate of employment increased even more. reporter: the household survey shows total employment rose by 873,000. that s the biggest gain since ronald reagan was president. but there s a catch. two-thirds of those jobs are part-time positions,
susie: more americans are going back to work. the unemployment rate now stands at 7.8 percent. it s the first time in almost 4 years that this key measure of the job market has dropped below 8 percent. american businesses added 114,000 new jobs in september and the readings for july and august were revised higher. so, is the labor picture as good as it seems? erika miller takes a closer look at the data and what it says about the u.s. economy. reporter: 3-tenths of a percent does not seem like much. but, when it comes to the nation s unemployment rate, a 3- tenths of a percent drop is actually staggering. the unemployment ratnow stands at 7.8 percent. that s the lowest level since january 2009, when president obama took office. even more remarkable is the reason for the drop. the unemployment rate decline was not because people dropped out of the labor force. to the contrary. the labor force actually but the household survey estimate of employment increased even more.