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Hiring by America’s employers picked up a bit in August from July’s sluggish pace, and the unemployment rate dipped for the first time since March in a sign that the job market may be cooling but remains sturdy.
Employers added 142,000 jobs last month, up from a scant 89,000 in July, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3% in July, which had been the highest level in nearly three years.
Collectively, Friday’s figures depict a job market slowing under the pressure of high interest rates but still growing. Many employers are responding to the resilience of consumers, who stepped up their spending in July, even after adjusting for inflation.
With inflation falling steadily back to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, the Fed is preparing to cut its key interest rate from a 23-year high. Friday’s mixed report on the job market raises the question of how large a cut the Fed will announce after it meets Sept. 17-18. The central bank could reduce its benchmark rate by a typical quarter-point or by a larger-than-usual half-point. Wall Street traders now foresee a roughly 50-50 likelihood of either scenario, according to futures prices.
