The U.S. economy continued to add jobs in August amid uncertainty about economic conditions, though it was at a relatively slower pace following a similarly soft jobs report last month that prompted President Donald Trump to fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 22,000 jobs in August, a figure that was well below the 75,000 estimate of economists polled by LSEG.
The unemployment rate also rose to 4.3% in August, which was in line with expectations and up from the 4.2% reading in July.
Job gains in the prior two months were both revised, with job creation in June revised down by 27,000 from a gain of 14,000 to a loss of 13,000; and July job creation was revised up by 6,000 from a gain of 73,000 to 79,000. Taken together, employment in June and July was 21,000 jobs lower than previously reported.
Private payrolls added 38,000 jobs in August, well below the gain of 75,000 jobs projected by LSEG.
Government payrolls declined by 16,000 jobs. Federal government employment fell by 15,000 jobs, while state governments shed 13,000 jobs. Those job losses were partially offset by gains of 12,000 jobs in local government, most of which were in education.
Manufacturing lost 12,000 jobs in August, a steeper drop than the decline of 5,000 jobs that LSEG projected.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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