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US job growth slowed down sharply in August and more Americans gave up the hunt for work, giving a cautious Federal Reserve more reasons to wait a bit longer before raising interest rates.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 142,000 last month, the smallest increase in eight months, the Labor Department said on Friday. The unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 6.1 per cent as people dropped out of the labor force.
June and July data were revised to show 28,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported, lending the weaker tone. In addition, manufacturing saw no job growth and retail payrolls declined for the first time since February.
