U.S. employers added 169,000 jobs in August and much fewer in July than previously thought. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped to 7.3%, the lowest in nearly five years. But it fell because more Americans stopped looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. The proportion of Americans working or looking for work fell to its lowest level in 35 years.
July's job gains were just 104,000, the fewest in more than a year and down from the previous estimate of 162,000. June's figure was revised to 172,000, from 188,000. The revisions lowered total hiring over those two months by 74,000.
Employers additionally have added an average of just 148,000 jobs in the past three months, well below the 12-month average of 184,000.
Another concern is that most of the hiring in August was in lower-paying industries such as retail, restaurants and bars, continuing a trend that began earlier this year. Retailers added 44,000 jobs and hotels, restaurants and bars added 27,000.
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