The official unemployment rate, based on a separate survey of households, remained at 4.9 percent. Others, including Evercore ISI’s Krishna Guha, suggested this month’s figures, which are traditionally weak and tend to be revised higher, will follow the same path of Augusts past, which has seen an average revision of 62,000 over the last five years. Center for American Progress Economist Kate Bahn released the following statement today on the August 2016 employment situation figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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“Nobody understands the inflation process, including the Fed”, said Torsten Slok, chief global economist at Deutsche Bank in NY. Fed Chairman Janet Yellen said in a speech last month that “the case for an increase. has strengthened in recent months”.
The dollar was marginally higher against a basket of currencies. On the Nasdaq, 1,888 issues rose and 732 fell.
Dr Yellen has said the economy needs to create just under 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with population growth. Analysts had expected payrolls to rise by 180,000.
The Fathom note continued: “Although just 151,000 net payrolls were added in August, less than expected, the underlying rate of job creation is still well above the level required for the labour market to tighten”.
“There were no positive standouts here, the key underlying data were all pretty soft as well”, said Tom Porcelli, chief United States economist at RBC Capital Markets in NY. The employment report “solid but not the stellar numbers needed to convince the market that September is in play”. “September seems to be off the table now”.
Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said the latest payrolls report meant the Fed should hold fire.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.1 percent from a month earlier to $25.73, following a 0.3 percent increase in the prior month.
The analysts at Econoday pointed out, “Earnings are very soft in this report, up only 0.1 percent in the month”, so that wages over a year rose 2.4 percent, a slowdown from July.
The average work week for all workers decreased by 6 minutes to 34.3 hours in July, the lowest since 2014 and the first drop in six months.
The jobless rate has been reduced by half in the last seven years, and consumer spending remains strong, but wages, adjusted for inflation, have only recently begun a steady climb.
Economists said the low participation rate partially explains why wage growth has been sluggish. Gross domestic product climbed at a 1.1 percent annualized rate in the three months ended in June.
USA stocks were poised for a higher open, with Dow and S&P 500 futures both up 0.2 percent.
The Atlanta Fed is forecasting gross domestic product rising at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter. Hiring in the sectors of manufacturing and construction were reduced.
Professional and health care fields added 49,000 jobs.
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Manufacturing employment didn’t experience stellar success in August, with a decline of 14,000 jobs.
