By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) – U.S. employment fell for a
third straight month in August, but the decline was far less
than expected and private payrolls growth surprised on the
upside, easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to prop up
growth.
Nonfarm payrolls fell 54,000, the Labor Department said on
Friday as temporary jobs to conduct the decennial dropped by
114,000.
Private employment, considered a better gauge of labor
market health, increased 67,000 after a revised 107,000 gain in
July. In addition, the government revised payrolls for June and
July to show 123,000 fewer jobs lost than previously reported.
The decline in payrolls was about half as large as
expected. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast overall
employment falling 100,000 and private-sector hiring increasing
41,000.
The unemployment rate edged up to 9.6 percent last
month, in line with market expectations. The rise in the
jobless rate reflected an increase in the labor force as some
discouraged workers resumed the hunt for jobs.
“We really need private businesses to step up and begin
to hire more aggressively for this recovery to really gain
momentum,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s
Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
The smaller-than-expected job losses last month could
assuage fears the economy is sliding back into recession and
ease pressure on the Fed — the U.S. central bank — to launch
a fresh round of bond buying to keep borrowing costs low.
Concerns of a double-dip recession have diminished
somewhat this week as data showed strength in manufacturing and
gains in consumer spending but the sluggish pace of growth has
kept investors on edge.
While the unwinding of temporary census jobs has been a
major drag on payrolls, an uncertain economic outlook has also
caused businesses to pare hiring
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