By Christopher S. Rugaber
Associated Press (AP), Sept 4, 2015
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. unemployment fell to a seven-year low of 5.1 percent last month, but hiring slowed — a mixed bag of news that offers few clues to whether the Federal Reserve will raise rock-bottom interest rates later this month. The Labor Department report, issued Friday, was closely watched because it will be the last snapshot of the job market before the Fed meets in two weeks. ...
Even the slip in hiring last month may not end up as bad as it looks. August's jobs totals are typically revised much higher in later months, because of the difficulties in adjusting the data for the end of millions of summer jobs. ...
Michael Kanter, president and co-owner of Cambridge Naturals, a health products store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, plans to add two workers to his 20-person staff to handle increased foot traffic and sales.
"We're seeing growth. We're seeing opportunity. We're definitely in a hiring mode," he said.
Still, manufacturing companies have been stumbling amid the global headwinds. They cut 17,000 jobs in August, the most since July 2013.
And there are signs that job growth is still not back to full health. Hourly wage growth remains sluggish. And the proportion of Americans working or looking for work is stuck at a 38-year low. ...
Copyright 2015 Associated Press