Meager Jobs Report For August (With One High Note)

A group of coal miners wave signs for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as they wait for a rally in Charleston, W.Va., Thursday, May 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

A group of coal miners wave signs for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as they wait for a rally in Charleston, W.Va., Thursday, May 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
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The monthly jobs report is out today, and it was not a good month for the U.S. economy. Adding only 156,000 jobs, about 20,000 less than originally predicted, the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% – the first dip in a while.

Via CNNMoney:

Employers added only 156,000 jobs in August as the pace of hiring slowed, according to the Labor Department report Friday.

The unemployment rate also crept up to 4.4% from the 16-year low of 4.3% reached last month, as fewer adults reported that they had a job during the month.

The Labor Department also revised down earlier estimates for job growth in both June and July by a total of 41,000 jobs, suggesting that the labor market is not quite as strong as it appeared to be a month ago.

Now, 4.4% is certainly much better than what we were looking at in the past decade or so, with the economy having recovered enough for a raise in interest rates by the Federal Reserve (and a promise of more to come).

Still, hiring slowing down does indicate a bit of uncertainty still lingering in the economy. A mix of a summer lull, as well as concerns about political instability under the current administration, will be the most pointed-to causes.

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However, there is a bit of bright news:

That’s good news for blue collar workers and Donald Trump, who promised to bring blue collar jobs back. While you can’t necessarily give Trump credit (though his work to peel back regulations can’t go unaccounted for), his largest base is blue collar workers, and it was their support in Rust Belt states that led to Hillary Clinton’s upset in 2016.

A resurgence in mining and construction, in particular, will have greater long term effects on the economy.

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