The U.S. added 142,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.
The new report is in line with economists' forecasts of 161,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, and will be closely watched as the Federal Reserve prepares to cut interest rates by at least a quarter of a percentage point amid concerns that it is falling behind in its cuts amid slowing hiring and employment growth.
“It's time to adjust policy,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell declared in a speech at the annual economic policy meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last month after keeping interest rates unchanged at 5.25% to 5.5% — a 23-year high — since July of last year.
Powell cited the worsening working environment, saying, “The labor market has cooled significantly from its previous heat.”
After devastating job losses in March and April 2020 at the start of the pandemic, the labor market heated up as the economy reopened and employers added staff, peaking in July 2021 with 939,000 additional jobs.
Hiring has slowed significantly since the post-pandemic surge. Standing in line Despite a big downward revision last month, employment remains at pre-pandemic levels.
In his Jackson Hole speech, Powell also noted that the unemployment rate had risen over the past year from a historic low of below 4 percent to 4.3 percent in July, nearly 1 percentage point above last year's low of 3.4 percent, adding that it “remains low by historical standards.”
The Federal Open Market Committee's September meeting will be its last before the 2024 general election on Nov. 5.
The handling of fees by politically independent bodies has become increasingly politicized.
Some Democrats have urged Powell and the committee to cut rates, citing the impact on home prices and the labor market, while former President Trump suggested in February that Powell might cut rates before the upcoming election to help Democrats in the upcoming election.
Powell, a lifelong Republican appointed by Trump in 2017 and reappointed by Biden in 2021, has made it clear that the Fed will filter out political noise and make decisions based on economic data.
