The US economy adds 130,000 jobs in August

The US economy added fewer jobs than expected in August.

Here were the most important employment figures from August, compared to Bloomberg compiled estimates:

• Non-farm payrolls added: 130,000 to 160,000 expected [19659004] Unemployment: 3.7% versus 3.7% expected

• Average hourly earnings MoM: 0.4% versus 0.3% expected

• Average hourly earnings YoY: 3.2% versus 3.0% expected

July Employment figures were revised to 159,000, down from the 164,000 positions previously reported. The labor force participation rate ticked higher to 63.2%. The manufacturing sector added 3,000 jobs in August.

Retail lost 11,000 jobs during the month. The payroll for retail fell for the seventh consecutive month, the longest losing streak since 2009.

The August Labor Report comes at a critical juncture, as trade tensions, slowing global growth and general uncertainty keep investors on edge. August was a brutally unstable month for the stock market with wild swings in both directions. In addition, with several short inversions of the yield curve during the month, the fear of a possible recession sent market watchers into a frenzy.

"In the midst of financial market volatility, it seems to mirror the rest of the world, the US job market has remained a veritable pillar of stability," Mark Hamrick, Bankrate.com's senior economics analyst, wrote in an email to Yahoo Finance. "When it comes to relative stability, the upcoming hiring reading in August should be no exception, with emphasis on & # 39; should & # 39; The most important question is whether the US economy continues to grow in the face of these headwinds."

Although consensus estimates asked for a drop in last year's job offer, some economists predicted a much healthier picture for the overall job market.

Morgan Stanley economist Ellen Zenter predicted that the US economy added cool 181,000 jobs in August. "Most of the important data on the labor market for August so far has sent quite positive signals," Zenter wrote in a note to clients Thursday. First, the initial unemployment requirements in July during the survey week continued to run at low levels, and there were no specific indications that the employment rate may have declined significantly. Second, the labor market difference in the conference, which was reported by the conference, rose to a multi-year high again. Third, the ADP employment report to the upside surprised with the underlying strength as quite broad. In total, these point to still healthy underlying labor market conditions. "

On the other hand, Wells Fargo economist Sam Bullard predicted that only 135,000 jobs were added in August. "Monthly job gains have slowed so far this year, but the underlying pace is still solid enough to foster moderate GDP growth," Bullard wrote in a note Thursday. "That said, the US job market is not immune to the slowdown in the pace of recent economic growth we have seen recently, and will eventually emerge in future employment plans."

<p class = "canvas atom canvas text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The BLS report comes after a & nbsp; new report by ADP Research Institute and Moody's & nbsp; on Thursday showed that job growth in the US private sector was better than the economists' expectations in August, with the US private sector adding 195,000 jobs in August , higher than the 148,000 jobs Wall Street predicted. "data-reactid =" 40 "> The BLS report comes after a new report from the ADP Research Institute and Moody & # 39; s Thursday showed that job growth in the US private sector was better than the economists' expectations in August. The US private sector added 195,000 jobs in August, higher than the 148,000 jobs Wall Street predicted.

The Christmas number was revised down to 142,000, from the 156,000 positions originally reported.

"In August, we saw a setback in private employment," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute in a statement. "This is the first time in the last 12 months we have seen balanced job growth in small, medium and large companies."

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, added, "Businesses are sticking to theirs despite the declining economy. Employment has moderated, but layoffs remain low as long as this continued recession continues in chess. ”

Although the ADP report is not always a reliable indicator of what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report will illustrate, it provides some insight into the health of employment in the United States

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<p class =" canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm "type =" text "content =" Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung . "data-reactid =" 59 "> Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung .

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