WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers added 169,000 workers to their payrolls last month and the jobless rate fell unexpectedly to 4.9 percent, its lowest level since August 2001, a reminder of the economy's vigor before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast.
While August's job-creation tally fell slightly short of the 190,000 gain expected by Wall Street, the Labor Department said on Friday job growth in June and July was stronger than previously thought, bumping up the tally for those two months by a combined 44,000.
Job gains in August were broad-based, although factory employment slipped by 14,000 - the third consecutive monthly decline. Over the past year, the manufacturing sector has shed 110,000 workers.
The department said Hurricane Katrina did not impact the August job tally, since it crossed Florida and hit the Gulf Coast after the government had surveyed employers. |