U.S. employers slowed their hiring in August to a modest 151,000 jobs and barely raised wages. The U.S. Labour Department said Friday the unemployment rate remained at 4.9 per cent for the third straight month. The figures are far below July's gain of 275,000 jobs, the most in eight months, and June's increase of 271,000. Even with last month's deceleration, hiring has been strong for the past year and economists are unlikely to be particularly concerned by one month's figure. Economic data mixedFederal Reserve officials have noted the economy's improvement and the decline in the unemployment rate to nearly healthy levels.

Source: CBC News September 02, 2016 12:49 UTC