US employers added just 22,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, stoking fears of an economic slowdown and solidifying the case for the Federal Reserve to deliver the interest-rate cut that President Donald Trump wants.
The unemployment rate now stands at its highest level in four years, though remains low by historical standards, and there are more unemployed people than jobs available for them.
The monthly jobs report was the first since Trump fired the head of the agency that collects the data, accusing her of falsifying reports to make the economy look weaker than it is. Policymakers and investors rely on official data to make decisions.
Analysts had expected the US economy to add around 76,500 jobs — not enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising — but the numbers came in at less than one-third of that in August. Nearly every major sector declined: Manufacturing lost 12,000 seasonally adjusted jobs, and healthcare, the labor market’s workhorse in recent months, added only 31,000.
The dismal report makes the Fed’s decision easier when it meets on Sept. 17. Investors are widely expecting a cut to interest rates. Dissent had already been building among Fed officials worried that the central bank was waiting too long and risking a slowdown in the economy, which remains one of the world’s strongest but has been flashing warning signals for months as Trump’s tariffs take a toll on business and consumer confidence.