August payrolls grew by a less-than-expected 142,000, but unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2%

The U.S. economy created slightly fewer jobs than expected in August, reflecting a slowing labor market while also clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates later this month.

Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 142,000 during the month, down from 89,000 in July and below the 161,000 consensus forecast from Dow Jones, according to a report Friday from the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the same time, the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2%, as expected.

The labor force expanded by 120,000 for the month, helping push the jobless level down by 0.1 percentage point, though the labor force participation rate held at 62.7%. An alternative measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons edged up to 7.9%, its highest reading since October 2021.

Markets showed little initial reaction to the data, with stock futures holding negative and Treasury yields also lower.

While the August numbers were close to expectations, the previous two months saw substantial downward revisions. The BLS cut July's total by 25,000, while June fell to 118,000, a downward revision of 61,000.

From a sector standpoint, construction led with 34,000 additional jobs. Other substantial gainers included health care, with 31,000, and social assistance, which saw growth of 13,000. Manufacturing lost 24,000 on the month.

On wages, average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% on the month and 3.8% from a year ago, both higher than the respective estimates for 0.3% and 3.7%. Hours worked edged higher to 34.3.

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