Photo taken on Sept. 6, 2024 shows the Department of Labor building in Washington, D.C., the United States. U.S. employers added fewer-than-expected 142,000 jobs in August, as unemployment rate edged down to 4.2 percent, signaling that the labor market continues to cool, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)
WASHINGTON, U.S. employers added fewer-than-expected 142,000 jobs in August, as unemployment rate edged down to 4.2 percent, signaling that the labor market continues to cool, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday.
Job gains occurred in construction and health care, according to the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Construction employment rose by 34,000 in August, higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the prior 12 months. Health care, meanwhile, added 31,000 jobs in August, about half the average monthly gain of 60,000 over the prior 12 months.
Employment in manufacturing declined by 24,000 last month. Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in August for the fifth month in a row, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management earlier this week.
Employment growth of 142,000 in August was below the average monthly gain of 202,000 over the prior 12 months, the BLS noted.
The growth in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised down by 61,000 to 118,000, and the change for July was revised down by 25,000 to a gain of 89,000.
In February, the U.S. unemployment rate increased to 3.9 percent, the highest level in two years, before slightly dropping to 3.8 percent in March. The unemployment rate then trended up for four consecutive months, hitting 4.3 percent in July, the highest since October 2021.
Signs of cooling in the labor market were also seen earlier in the week, when the Automatic Data Processing report showed that the U.S. private sector added 99,000 jobs in August, the fewest in more than three years.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has recently said the "time has come" for monetary policy to adjust, sending a straightforward message to markets that the central bank will likely cut interest rates in its Sept. 17-18 meeting.
"The inflation and labor market data show an evolving situation. The upside risks to inflation have diminished. And the downside risks to employment have increased," said Powell, adding that cooling in the labor market has been "unmistakable" and "we do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions."
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group's FedWatch Tool, which acts as a barometer for the market's expectation of the Fed funds target rate, showed that as of Friday morning, there was a roughly 50 percent probability of the Fed cutting rates by either 25 basis points or 50 basis points at the September meeting.(Xinhua)
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