US Adds 162,000 Jobs in August, Trump Urges Fed Rate Cuts Amid Strong Data
US nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, the highest since March and far exceeding market expectations of 56,000. Combined job gains for June and July were revised up by 55,000, and the unemployment rate held at a low of 4.1% in August. US President Trump called the jobs data "very strong" and again urged the US Fed to cut interest rates, stressing that high rates put the US at an "unfair disadvantage," and threatened that the Fed should either cut rates or the US would stop trading with countries running trade deficits. After the data release, market expectations for a US Fed rate hike in September rose significantly, and if August CPI data also beat expectations, a rate hike would almost be a certainty.