Payroll employment increases by 156,000 in August; unemployment rate changes little (4.4%)

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Employers added just 156,000 jobs in August, as hiring cooled from earlier in year. Unemployment rate up to 4.4%

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LIVE ANALYSIS

U.S. Economy Added 156,000 Jobs in August

Last Updated Sep 1, 2017 at 8:46 am ET

The Labor Department said Friday that the U.S. added 156,000 jobs in August, fewer than expected. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%. Tell us what you think of our live preview notifications in our short survey.
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From the comments:

3m

Dollar Adds to Its Losing Streak

The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against its peers, was down about 0.4% after the report, reflecting the weaker-than-expected numbers.

The euro rose about 0.2% against the dollar, while the greenback feel about 0.2% against the Japanese yen.

The moves extend a losing streak for the dollar, which has had a pretty remarkable run lower in 2017. For the year through Thursday, it was down 7.7%, helping ease financial conditions, making exports cheaper, and adding a boost to the stock market.

Because the dollar tends to strengthen and weaken alongside economic data and its implications for Federal Reserve rate-setters,
Friday's report isn't likely to help the dollar recover.



-- Ben Eisen

5m

U-6 Still Sitting at 8.6%

A broad measure of unemployment and underemployment known as the U-6, which includes people stuck in part-time jobs among others, was 8.6% in August for the third consecutive month. Despite the lack of recent progress, it's down more than a percentage point over the past year.

-- Ben Leubsdorf

9m

Manufacturing, Construction Show Good Growth

August was a good month, apparently, for making things and building stuff.

Manufacturing was the best sector in August, adding 36,000 jobs. The category motor vehicles and parts added 14,000, fabricated metal products added 5,000, and electronic products added 4,000.

The next best sector was construction, which added 28,000 jobs. It's the first time in five months, the BLS said, that the sector has shown any appreciable growth. Residential specialty trade contractors added 12,000 jobs.

Professional and technical services added 22,000 jobs; computer systems design added 8,000 jobs.

Mining added 7,000 jobs.

Food services added 9,000.

-- Paul Vigna