U.S. employers added 151,000 jobs in last month, a sharp deceleration from recent months as companies shed education, transportation and temporary workers. That was below economists’ forecasts of a creation of 185,000 jobs, according to data from Factset.
On the positive side, the unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent from 5 percent, the lowest level since February 2008. Average wages jumped 2.5 percent over the past year to $25.39 an hour, evidence that the past years of job growth are helping to generate larger pay raises.
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“We’re not falling off the cliff, but it clearly shows the U.S. economy is not immune to the global slowdown,” said Russ Koesterich, global market strategist with asset manager BlackRock.
Of course, there’s no real confusion: the “unemployment” headline number is a jury-rigged joke; with the underemployment stats more telling.