US hiring picks up in August while unemployment edges down
The Peninsula
Washington: US hiring picked up pace in August while the jobless rate crept down, according to government data released Friday, paving the way towards...
Washington: US hiring picked up pace in August while the jobless rate crept down, according to government data released Friday, paving the way towards the start of central bank rate cuts this month.
The world's biggest economy added 142,000 jobs last month, an increase from July's figure which was revised notably lower to 89,000, said the Department of Labor.
The August figure was below economists' expectations of 165,000, according to a Briefing.com consensus forecast.
The unemployment rate declined slightly from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent, a shift that should assuage policymakers' worst fears.
Overall, the figures reaffirm perceptions of a cooling labor market -- with job gains in June revised significantly downwards as well.
