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The US jobs market drastically weakened in August, confirming signs of a slowdown – and bolstering hopes for an interest rate cut this month.
Employers added a paltry 22,000 jobs last month — down from 73,000 jobs the month before and far below expectations of 75,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
Friday’s data puts the year-to-date total at just 619,000 – down from more than 1.1 million this time last year.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3% from 4.2% the month before, as expected.
While revisions were not as substantial as those made last month, the government revised June figures down into the negative for a loss of 13,000 jobs – the first such decline since December 2020.
It’s the first report since Trump abruptly fired Erika McEntarfer, the bureau’s chief, accusing her of releasing false data.
His pick to replace her – E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a past critic of the jobs data – awaits Senate confirmation.
Friday’s job data falls in line with concerns from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the labor market is now more of a concern than inflation.
During his Jackson Hole speech last month, Powell hinted at a possible interest rate cut in September to promote economic growth.
August’s figures – combined with other weak labor market data released this week – are a sign that many employers are slowing or pausing hiring altogether as they face economic uncertainty.
“Fewer job openings, softer wage growth, and longer job searches are signs of a slowdown,” Ger Doyle, North America president at ManpowerGroup, said in a note Friday.
“The hiring momentum that kicked off the year has been tempered by uncertainty. What was once a ‘wait and see’ posture is now a strategic balancing act – grow where it matters, hold where you can and invest where the future demands it.”
