2017.09.0108:38:00UTC+00U.S. Employment Climbs Much Less Than Expected In August

Job growth in the U.S. came in well below economist estimates in the month of August, according to a closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 156,000 jobs in August compared to expectations for an increase of about 180,000 jobs.

The report also said the job growth in June and July was downwardly revised to 210,000 jobs and 189,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 41,000 jobs.

Reflecting the weaker than expected job growth, the unemployment rate inched up to 4.4 percent in August from 4.3 percent in July. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.