US economy adds 130,000 jobs in August

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The US economy created fewer jobs than expected in August.

Here are the key employment figures for the month of August, compared to estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

Non-farm payrolls added: 130,000 against 160,000 planned
Unemployment rate: 3.7% vs. 3.7% expected
Average hourly earnings per month: 0.4% against 0.3% expected
Average annual hourly earnings: 3.2% vs. 3.0% expected

The number of jobs in July was revised to 159,000, down from 164,000 previously reported. The activity rate reached 63.2%. The manufacturing sector added 3,000 positions in August.

The retail sector lost 11,000 jobs during the month. Payroll in the retail trade declined for the seventh consecutive month, the longest series of losses since 2009.

The August employment report comes at a critical juncture, as trade tensions, slowing global growth and general uncertainty keep investors on the edge of risk. August was an extremely volatile month for the stock market, with sharp swings in both directions. In addition, with multiple short reversals of the yield curve over the month, fears of a possible recession have plunged market watchers into a frenzy.

"In the midst of volatile financial markets seemingly reflecting the rest of the world, the US labor market has remained a true pillar of stability," said Mark Hamrick, chief economic analyst of Bankrate.com, in an email to Yahoo Finance. "With regard to relative stability, reading the job for the month of August should not be an exception to the rule, the emphasis being on" should. "The key question is to know if the US economy continues to grow in the face of these headwinds. "

Although consensus estimates predicted fewer jobs compared to last month, some economists predicted a much healthier picture for the labor market as a whole.

Ellen Zenter, a Morgan Stanley economist, predicted that the US economy would have created 181,000 jobs in August. "Most of the key labor market data for the month of August so far have sent rather positive signals," wrote Zenter in a note to clients on Thursday. On the one hand, during the July survey week, the first jobless claims continued to be weak and nothing in particular indicates that the hiring rate could have slowed down considerably. Second, the August Board's labor market differential reported by the Conference Board again reached a multi-year high. Thirdly, the ADP employment report is surprisingly upward, with the underlying strength being quite broad. Together, these elements indicate that the underlying conditions of the labor market remain healthy. "

Sam Bullard, an economist at Wells Fargo, predicted that only 135,000 jobs would have been created in August. "Monthly job creation has slowed so far this year, but the underlying pace remains strong enough to support moderate GDP growth," wrote Bullard in a note on Thursday. "That being said, the US labor market is not immune to the deceleration in the pace of overall economic growth we've experienced recently and will result in future plans in the future. ;hiring."

<p content = "The BLS report comes after a & nbsp;new report from ADP Research Institute and Moody's& nbsp; Thursday, showed that the growth of employment in the US private sector was higher than the expectations of economists in August. The US private sector added 195,000 jobs in August, a figure higher than Wall Street's projected 148,000 jobs. "Data-reactid =" 40 "type =" text "> The BLS report follows a new report from ADP Research Institute and Moody's on Thursday, showing that employment growth in the sector The US private sector was better than the economists' forecasts in August, which added 195,000 jobs in August, more than the 148,000 jobs planned by Wall Street.

The July figure was revised to 142,000, out of the 156,000 posts initially reported.

"In August, we witnessed a rebound in employment in the private sector," said in a statement Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-director of the ADP Research Institute. "This is the first time in 12 months that we have seen balanced employment growth in small, medium and large businesses."

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, added: "Businesses retain their payroll despite the slowing economy. Hires have moderated, but layoffs are few. As long as this recession continues, it will remain at a distance. "

Although the ADP report is not always a reliable indicator of what the Labor Office's (BLS) report will illustrate, it gives an overview of the health of employment in the United States.

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Heidi Chung is a Yahoo Finance journalist. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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