Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.4%, 144,000 Jobs Adde
Washington, September 3—The economy in August added 144,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dipped to 5.4 percent from July’s 5.5 percent, the Labor Department reported.
Economists were predicting the jobless rate to hold steady in August.
The gain in payrolls was short of the 150,000 net jobs that economists were calling for. However, it represented the biggest jobs gain since May and marked the 12th month in a row that payrolls grew.
Job gains for July were revised up to 73,000 from the 32,000 advance first estimated. Payrolls for June also were revised up to show a larger gain than first reported.
