Report: US Job Growth is Sluggish

Local Editor

US employers hired the lowest number of people in eight months in August, the latest official figures show.

The Labor Department issued a report on Friday indicating that the country's economy generated just 142,000 jobs last month which is below the average of 212,000 over the previous 12 months.

The new statistics caught economists by surprise, who were projecting a stronger figure owing to the recent signs of recovery in the world's largest economy.
According to some analysts, the development will compel the Federal Reserve to change its calculations and wait longer, probably until mid-2015, before raising interest rates.

Economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said August employment growth had been revised upward in 12 of the last 15 years by an average of 31,000.
"The report was clearly disappointing and contrasts with the otherwise strong economic data we have seen recently," the bank said in a note to clients. "We advise not overreacting given the volatility of nonfarm payrolls and possibility of an upward revision."

An increasing number of people, many in their prime working for years, have stopped looking for a job. The Friday report was mostly a result of Americans dropping out of the labor force, not of their finding work.

As a result, many ordinary Americans remain skeptical about the recovery, which is now in its fifth year. Even that employers added 142,000 workers to their payrolls, was the smallest number so far this year.
The poor US job record also had a negative impact on financial markets, pushing the dollar lower against the euro.

Employers had added 200,000-plus jobs for six straight months until August. This was the longest stretch since 1997.

Source: Press TV