The US added fewer jobs than expected during the month of August. Originally anticipated to total 160,000, 130,000 non-farm jobs were added.
July’s numbers were also revised from to 159,000, down from the 164,000. The unemployment rate remains at 3.7 percent.
In a nutshell:
- The retail sector continues to shed jobs. August saw a loss of 11,000. This is the seventh consecutive month, the longest losing streak since 2009.
- The manufacturing sector added 3,000 positions in August.
“The general message from the labor market is that businesses are cutting back on hiring, but they are not laying off workers and that is important,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “Consumers are what’s keeping the economy moving at this point.”
CNBC:
