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| US economy adds 142,000 jobs in August | US economy adds 142,000 jobs in August |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US economy added 142,000 jobs in August, latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal, missing expectations. | The US economy added 142,000 jobs in August, latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal, missing expectations. |
| The unemployment rate in the world's largest economy dipped lower, to 6.1%. | The unemployment rate in the world's largest economy dipped lower, to 6.1%. |
| The US economy had been averaging a monthly jobs gain of 212,000 in the previous 12 months. | |
| Part of the sluggish jobs growth was attributed to a loss of 17,000 food and beverage jobs as a result of a supermarket store strike. | |
| Thousands of employees of the Market Basket chain of supermarkets in the northeastern US had gone on strike in July to protest the firing of their boss. The dispute was resolved late last week. | Thousands of employees of the Market Basket chain of supermarkets in the northeastern US had gone on strike in July to protest the firing of their boss. The dispute was resolved late last week. |
| In order to keep up with population growth, the US economy needs to add 150,000 jobs per month. | In order to keep up with population growth, the US economy needs to add 150,000 jobs per month. |
| Bright spots | |
| There were some bright spots in the August jobs report: wage growth, a crucial sign of the strength of the US economy, ticked up slightly. | |
| Average hourly earnings are now growing at 2.1% year over year. US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen has previously indicated that wages are a crucial factor in the Fed's analysis of the state of the health of the US jobs market. | |
| Employment in the car industry also dipped less than expected, as fewer workers were laid off for factory retooling. | |
| Jobs growth in the professional and business services also continued to lead the recovery, with an additional 47,000 jobs adding in August, bringing the yearly total to 639,000. | |
| 'Wind out of the sails' | |
| However, most analysts believe that the sluggish August figure will give central bankers pause as they consider when to end the Fed's extraordinary support of the US economy. | |
| The central bank is scheduled to meet on 16-17 September. | |
| Many have wondered whether or not so-called "hawks", who favour increasing interest rates, would be able to persuade other members of the committee to move forward the bank's plans to raise interest rates from their historically low levels of 0%. | |
| "This should take some wind out of the sails for the [Federal Open Market Committee] hawks," wrote investment bank Jefferies economists' in a note to clients. |