Washington: The US jobs engine cooled last month as hiring slowed across industrial sectors, another sign that the world's largest economy could be weakening, government data showed on Friday.
The surprisingly weak result confirmed that labour markets in 2019 have softened from their brisk pace last year, raising the prospect that President Donald Trump's record as a job creator could wane as next year's elections approach.
Employers added 130,000 net new positions for the month, far lower than analyst forecasts, while the jobless rate held steady at 3.7% and wages rose, according to Labor Department estimates.
Amid weak investment by companies and mounting fears of a recession, employers also say they are struggling to find qualified workers to fill open positions. The soft jobs numbers could also add to pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this month, as economists widely expect it to do.
Within the details, however, there were other causes for concern.
About quarter of August hires came from the government itself as federal authorities prepare to conduct next year's census.
In the dominant service sector, however, the retail, transportation and utilities industries all shed jobs for at least the second month in a row. Workforces also shrank in the mining sector, likely suffering from a drop in oil prices.
Hiring was cut in half in the education and health industries and was flat for auto manufacturers, information services.
Workers, however, got a bump in pay, as hourly wages rose 11 cents on average, putting them up more than three percent, year-on-year, for the 13th month in a row.
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