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| Graphic shows the national unemployment rate and monthly job gains; 2c x 3 inches; 96.3 mm x 76 mm; |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- U.S. unemployment fell to a seven-year low of 5.1 percent last
month, but hiring slowed - a mixed bag of news that offers few clues to
whether the Federal Reserve will raise rock-bottom interest rates later
this month.
The Labor Department report,
issued Friday, was closely watched because it will be the last snapshot
of the job market before the Fed meets in two weeks. And overall, it
painted a picture of an economy growing at a modest but steady pace
seven years after the Great Recession.
But it wasn't the unambiguous signal many on Wall Street were hoping for.
The
unemployment rate fell from 5.3 percent in July to its lowest point
since 2008 and is now at a level Fed officials say is consistent with a
healthy economy. But employers added a moderate 173,000 jobs in August,
the fewest in five months.
"Anyone hoping
today's data would clear up the timing of the Fed's first rate hike in
years will be sorely disappointed," said Megan Greene, chief economist
at John Hancock Asset Management.
Nevertheless,
the prospect of higher interest rates weighed heavy on the stock market
Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging 272 points, or
1.7 percent.
Higher rates rise would most
likely push up borrowing costs for mortgages and other loans for
consumers and businesses, and some on Wall Street fear that could put a
damper on corporate profits and the larger economy.
The
Fed cut the short-term rate it controls to a record low of nearly zero
in December 2008 to try to stimulate growth during the Great Recession.
For
months, Fed officials have been saying the economy appears to be
getting strong enough to tolerate the first increase in interest rates
in a decade. They have signaled that they might raise rates at their
Sept. 16-17 meeting.
Yet other factors have clouded those predictions lately.
For
one thing, there are signs that China's economy, the second largest in
the world, is stumbling, which could drag down global growth. The
slowdown has already caused violent swings in the financial markets that
could undermine consumer confidence.
Friday's report suggested to many economists that the U.S. job market, at least, has satisfied the Fed's criteria.
"We're
well on our way to full employment if we aren't already there," said
Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust and a former Fed
official.
Even the slip in hiring last month
may not end up as bad as it looks. August's jobs totals are typically
revised much higher in later months, because of the difficulties in
adjusting the data for the end of millions of summer jobs.
Also,
consumer spending has been healthy and has been powering job growth at
retailers, restaurants and hotels. State and local governments added
31,000 jobs in August, while health care gained 40,500.
Michael
Kanter, president and co-owner of Cambridge Naturals, a health products
store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, plans to add two workers to his
20-person staff to handle increased foot traffic and sales.
"We're seeing growth. We're seeing opportunity. We're definitely in a hiring mode," he said.
Still,
manufacturing companies have been stumbling amid the global headwinds.
They cut 17,000 jobs in August, the most since July 2013.
And
there are signs that job growth is still not back to full health.
Hourly wage growth remains sluggish. And the proportion of Americans
working or looking for work is stuck at a 38-year low.
Chris
Williamson, chief economist at the financial information firm Markit,
said Friday's report provided "frustratingly little new insight into
whether the Fed will start to raise rates."
"A
bumper payrolls number would have sealed the case for higher interest
rates in many people's minds," he said, "while a low number would have
dealt a blow to any chances of tightening of policy at the next
meeting."
