The American economy improved in August but not as much as people had hoped.
The U.S. economy added 173,000 jobs in August, a decent gain that was below expectations and might have dimmed the chances of the Federal Reserve raising its key interest rate in two weeks. Economists surveyed by CNNMoney projected that the economy would add 207,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate was 5.1% in August, down to its lowest level since April 2008.
In addition to the lukewarm jobs gains, wages didn’t grow much in August either. Wages only rose 2.2% in August, about in line with expectations but well below the Federal Reserve’s 3.5% target.
Wage growth has been missing during the U.S. economic recovery from the recession, and it’s also a key measure of inflation — something that’s been absent and that the Fed badly wants to see.