U.S. non-farm employment increased by 162,000 in August, and the unemployment rate remained stable at 4.1%

China News Service, Washington, September 4 (Reporter Chen Mengtong) Data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on the 4th showed that the number of non-farm jobs in the United States increased by 162,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was 4.1%, the same as in July.

The U.S. Department of Labor also revised upward non-farm payroll data for June and July, with a combined increase of 55,000 jobs in the two months compared with previously announced data. Among them, July's employment data was revised from a decrease of 23,000 to an increase of 21,000.

The Wall Street Journal believes that the increase in U.S. jobs in August will help ease market concerns about a renewed cooling of the labor market.

Data show that employment growth in the United States in August mainly came from employment in the catering industry and local government education departments, while employment in the information industry decreased. Among them, 59,000 new positions were added in the catering industry and 42,000 new positions were added in local government education departments. The healthcare industry added 13,000 new jobs, down from the 32,000 average monthly increase in the previous 12 months. The information industry lost 23,000 jobs, compared with an average monthly loss of 8,000 jobs in the previous 12 months.

In terms of wages, the average hourly wage of non-agricultural employees in the U.S. private sector rose 10 cents month-on-month to $37.75 in August; a year-on-year increase of 3.1%.

After the above-mentioned data was released, the two-year U.S. Treasury bond yield rose and all three major New York stock indexes fell. Investors increased their bets on an interest rate hike at the Federal Reserve's September monetary policy meeting.

U.S. President Trump said via social media that the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates. “The Fed’s Board of Governors, under its new leadership, must wise up — and be patriots this time,” he said.

Bloomberg News analyzed that this employment report shows that despite the uncertainty caused by the war in Iran and the impact of inflationary pressure, the U.S. labor market still shows strong resilience. That resilience remains enough for the Fed to focus policy on controlling inflation.

As of press time, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's FedWatch Tool showed that the market expected the probability of the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in September rose to 58.4% from 49.4% a day ago. (over)