Employment in the month of August fell by much less than economists had been expecting, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday, with the report also showing a much smaller than previously reported drop in employment in July.
The report showed that non-farm payroll employment fell by 54,000 jobs in August, matching the revised decrease in jobs seen in July. Economists had expected employment to fall by about 120,000 jobs compared to the loss of 131,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
While employment fell by less than expected, the unemployment rate still edged up to 9.6 percent in August from 9.5 percent in July. The modest increase came in line with economist estimates.
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