Employers added a disappointing 169,000 jobs in August, extending a midyear dip in the labor market amid federal spending cuts and a payroll tax increase.
The unemployment rate, which is calculated from a different survey of households, fell to 7.3% from 7.4%, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s the lowest since December 2008. However, the drop came because 312,000 Americans stopped working or looking for work — not because of a rise in employment.
Even more discouraging: the Labor Department revised down its estimate for job gains in June and July by a total 74,000. The payroll increase in June was revised to 172,000 from 188,000 and in July, from 162,000 to 104,000.
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