US economy adds 142,000 jobs in August as unemployment rate softens

Unemployment at 4.2%

Sorin-Andrei Dojan
clock • 1 min read

The US economy added 142,000 jobs in August, while the country's unemployment figure edged down to 4.2% from 4.3% a month prior.

Total nonfarm payrolls published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics today (6 September) came in below economist expectations of 165,000 and exceeded the downwardly-revised 89,000 jobs created in July. The construction sector added 34,000 jobs in August, more than the average monthly figure of 19,000. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector reported an increase of only 31,000 jobs, half the 60,000 monthly average recorded over the last year. US economy adds 114,000 jobs in July but unemployment figures creep up The labour market data release will be closely watched by Federal Reserve pol...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on US

US economy adds 254,000 jobs in September as unemployment rate softens
US

US economy adds 254,000 jobs in September as unemployment rate softens

Unemployment at 4.1%

Sorin-Andrei Dojan
clock 04 October 2024 • 2 min read
Deep Dive: Investors draw cautious optimism over US small-caps amid soft landing hopes
US

Deep Dive: Investors draw cautious optimism over US small-caps amid soft landing hopes

'Opening the champagne is premature'

Sorin-Andrei Dojan
clock 20 September 2024 • 4 min read
Investors relieved by 'aggressive' Fed rate cut but question need of large snip
US

Investors relieved by 'aggressive' Fed rate cut but question need of large snip

First rate reduction in four years

Sorin-Andrei Dojan
clock 19 September 2024 • 3 min read
Trustpilot