The economy added around 1.4 million jobs last month, reflecting a slow return to labor market growth, according to data released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate fell into the single digits for the first time since the pandemic began, dropping from 10.2 percent to 8.4 percent, the monthly report showed. Before the coronavirus' stranglehold on the economy, the rate was at 3.5 percent, the lowest in five decades. The August data indicates a halting recovery of the more than 22 million jobs lost since March, with July's 1.76 million gains and June's addition of 4.8 million positions.