The US economy added fewer jobs than expected in August while the unemployment rate ticked lower.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed the labor market added 142,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August, fewer additions than the 165,000 expected by economists.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% from 4.3% in July. August job additions came in higher than the revised 89,000 added in July. Additionally, revisions to the June and July labor reports showed the US economy added 86,000 fewer jobs than initially reported in those months.
Wage growth, an important measure for gauging inflation pressures, rose to 3.8% year over year, up from a 3.6% annual gain in July. On a monthly basis, wages increased 0.4%, higher than the 0.2% seen the month prior.
Also in Friday’s report, the labor force participation remained flat from the month prior at 62.7%.