US economy adds 96K jobs

WASHINGTON: US employers added 96,000 jobs last month, a weak figure that could slow the momentum President Barack Obama hoped to gain from his speech Thursday night to the Democratic National Convention.
The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent in July. But that was only because more Americans gave up looking for jobs. People who are out of work are counted as unemployed only if they’re looking for a job.
Stocks ticked higher in the first hour of trading, as investors anticipate the Federal Reserve will unveil a new bond-buying program at its meeting next week to try to lift the economy. The goal of the bond purchases would be to lower long-term interest rates to encourage borrowing and spending.
“This weak jobs report is going to feed into (the Fed’s) argument that the economy is growing at a sub-par pace,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo.
Republicans seeking the White House have accused Obama of failing to steer the economy out of a deep recession, and a majority of Americans disapproves of how the Democratic president is handling the economy, according to recent polls.
The government also said yesterday that 41,000 fewer jobs were created in July and June than first estimated. The economy has added just 139,000 jobs a month since the start of the year, below 2011’s average of 153,000.
Yesterday’s report was discouraging throughout. Hourly pay fell, manufacturers cut the most jobs in two years and the number of people in the work force dropped to its lowest level in 31 years.