Hiring Slowed In August

September 3, 2021 4:20 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s employers added just 235,000 jobs in August, a surprisingly weak gain after two months of robust hiring. The number reported by the Labor Department Friday fell far short of the roughly 940,000 that employers had added in each of the previous two months, when widespread vaccinations allowed the economy to fully reopen from pandemic restrictions. Still, the number of job openings remains at record levels, and hiring is expected to stay solid in the coming months. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% from 5.4% in July.