New Jobs Report Is Weaker Than Expected

The new jobs report is out, the first one since President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and accused her of rigging the numbers. The August report hasn't changed the narrative much, however: It suggests the labor market continued to cool off over the summer. Details:

• Numbers: Employers added only 22,000 jobs in the month, below modest Wall Street expectations of 75,000, reports CNBC. That is well below July's revised figure of 79,000.
• Milestone: June's numbers also were revised—as is typical—and they now show a net loss of 13,000 jobs for that month. It's the first negative number since the pandemic, reports the Washington Post. The previous June estimate dropped by 27,000 jobs.
• Rate: The unemployment rate rose from 4.2% to 4.3%, as expected, per the Wall Street Journal.

• Markets: They were rising modestly, apparently because investors see a silver lining in the weak numbers—a greater likelihood the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month. Dow futures were down more than 100 points prior to the report's release, but they erased most of that afterward. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also were positive.
• New leader: Trump's nominee for the stats post, EJ Antoni, is still awaiting Senate confirmation. In the meantime, acting commissioner William Wiatrowski, a career Labor Department official, is overseeing the report. No fundamental changes have yet been made in how it is assembled.