US non-farm payrolls growth slows to a crawl in August

(Sharecast News) - Hiring in the US continued crept only a tad higher last month, undershooting economists' forecasts in the process. According to the Department of Labor, non-farm payrolls grew by 22,000 in August (consensus: 75,000).

Revised data also showed that it in fact contracted in June, with non-farm payrolls falling by 13,000 (Preliminary: +14,000).

July's tally was revised up by 6,000 to 79,000.

The rate of unemployment ticked higher by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.3%, as expected, although the labour force participation rate did improve from 62.2% to 62.3%.

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