MNI DATA IMPACT:US Aug Jobs Below-Expected +130k; Earnings +0.4%>

--July Payrolls Rev Down To +159k, June Jobs Rev Down to +178k

By Brooke Migdon

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - Payrolls growth was below expectations in 

August, rising by 130,000 and following a net 20,000 downward revision 

to the previous two months. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, in 

line with market expectations. 

     Hourly earnings growth was larger than expected, rising by 0.4% 

after an upward revised 0.3% gain in the previous month. The year/year 

rate rose to 3.2% in August from 3.1% in July. 

     Here are some of the key takeaways from the data released Friday: 

     - August payrolls data were slightly below expected, posting a 

130,000 increase compared with market expectations for a 160,000 gain. 

This followed downward revisions to July (+159k vs prev +164k) and June 

(+178k vs prev +193k) for a net downward revision of 20,000. 

     - Hourly earnings increased 0.4% while a market median had looked 

for a 0.3% gain. As a result, the year/year rate for earnings rose to 

3.2%. Average hours worked increased slightly to 34.4 in August after 

dipping marginally to 34.3 hours in July. 

     - The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, in line with market 

expectations, though the labor force participation rate ticked upward by 

0.2 pp to 63.2%. The size of the labor force increased to 163.9 million 

with the number of employed increasing and the number of unemployed 

decreasing. Before rounding, the unemployment rate fell to 3.6871% from 

3.7116% in July. 

     - Private payrolls rose by 96,000 in August, far below the 150,000 

increase expected by markets. Earlier in the week, the ADP national 

employment report had recorded a 195,000 gain in private payrolls. The 

retail and mining sectors recorded losses of 11,000 and 5,000, 

respectively. Wholesale trade and education and health care payrolls 

also fell relative to July. 

     - Government payrolls rose by 34,000 in August, largely reflecting 

the hiring of temporary census workers, the BLS said. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]