US job growth beats expectations, unemployment stable at 4.1%

The US labour market surprised positively in August. Non-farm payrolls rose by 162,000, well above the 56,000 forecast and a sharp turnaround from the decline of 23,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%, in line with expectations. President Trump responded enthusiastically and again called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

In brief:

• US job growth totalled 162,000 in August, almost three times higher than expected.
• The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, while average hourly earnings rose 3.1% year on year.
• Trump repeated his call for the Fed to cut rates and threatened trade sanctions if it fails to do so.

Job growth far above expectations

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment growth in August was concentrated mainly in hospitality and local government education. The information sector, by contrast, lost jobs.

Average hourly earnings rose 3.1% year on year, above the expected 3.0%. On a monthly basis, the increase was 0.3%, exactly in line with the forecast. The figures show that the labour market remains resilient despite persistent uncertainty over trade and interest rate policy.

Trump keeps up pressure on Fed

President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the jobs data “far exceed all expectations” and repeated his call on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. He argued that the US should have the lowest interest rates in the world.

Trump also threatened that the US could halt trade with countries with which it runs trade deficits if the Fed does not cut rates. Following the better-than-expected jobs growth, the market is increasingly factoring in a rate cut in September.

Investors in risky assets are also responding to the news. Bitcoin ETFs still attracted $731 million on 3 September, which shows that the crypto market, too, is sensitive to macroeconomic signals.