US Labor Market Surprises with 162,000 Jobs Added in August

The US labor market showed unexpected strength in August, with nonfarm payrolls rising by 162,000. This was significantly higher than the estimated 55,000 jobs added according to Econoday consensus.

In a welcome change, revisions for previous months were also positive, with June's employment revised up by 11,000 and July's by 44,000. This means that combined, employment in these two months is now 55,000 higher than previously reported.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1%, while the participation rate increased by 0.2 to 61.6%. Average hourly earnings for all nonfarm workers rose $0.10 to $37.75, a gain of 3.1% from last year. However, these gains are not keeping pace with inflation when factoring in homeowner's insurance, property taxes, and tips on food.