U.S. employers slowed their hiring in August and barely raised wages. They added a modest 151,000 jobs, about half the blockbuster gains of the two previous months.
The Associated Press reports the slowdown in job growth reduces the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates when it meets later this month.
The unemployment rate remained 4.9% for a third straight month, the Labor Department says in its monthly jobs report released this morning.
The job gain was far below July’s 275,000, which was the most in eight months, and June’s increase of 271,000. Still, over time, the current pace of hiring is enough to lower the jobless rate over time.
Job gains slowed across most major industries, and employers cut workers in manufacturing, construction and mining.
Hourly wages barely increased in August and have risen just 2.4% in the past year, slightly lower than the previous month’s pace.
Even with last month’s deceleration, hiring has been strong for the past year, and economists are unlikely to be particularly concerned by one month’s figure.
The August jobs report has typically come in below economists’ expectations and is usually revised higher in the following months. Over the past five years, it has typically been revised higher by about 70,000.
