US Job Market Hits Wall, Raising Fed Easing Expectations
The US job creation engine slowed further last month, reinforcing market expectations for at least two rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in the remainder of the year. According to data just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 22,000 jobs were added in August – representing an undershoot relative to the 75,000-consensus forecast – and the unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent. The previous month was revised up to a still-low 79,000 from the 73,000 previously estimated, and average hourly earnings climbed 3.7 percent year-over-year, slowing from the 3.8-pace set in the prior month. The manufacturing sector—purportedly the...