Job growth south of the border continued at a tepid pace in August, with non-farm payrolls increasing by just 130,000 thanks in large part to the temporary hiring of Census workers.
The increase announced Friday by the U.S. Labor Department fell short of Wall Street estimates for 150,000, while the unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%, as expected. An alternative measure of the jobless rate, which includes discouraged and underemployed workers, increased to 7.2% from 7% in July, due mainly to a 397,000 increase in those working part-time for economic reasons.
Wage growth remained solid, with average hourly earnings increasing by 0.4% for the month and 3.2% over the year; both numbers were one-tenth of a percentage point better than expected.
