US economy adds fewer jobs than expected

Published On Sep 6, 2024, 8:36 AM

The August jobs report indicates that the U.S. labor market added 142,000 nonfarm jobs, a figure that fell short of economists' expectations of 165,000 jobs. The unemployment rate declined from 4.3% to 4.2%. Wage growth year-over-year increased to 3.8%, with a monthly gain of 0.4%. Revisions to the previous two months' reports revealed 86,000 fewer jobs added than initially reported. While some economists suggest these figures may prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, others warn of the labor market's quick loss of momentum, which could lead to a 50 basis point cut later in the year.