From Robert Hughes over at the American Institute for Economic Research.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls added 130,000 jobs in August, below the consensus expectation of 158,000. The prior two months were revised down, showing gains of 159,000 and 178,000 for July and June, respectively. The three-month average from June to August was 156,000, well below the 199,000 average since 2011, but still a decent performance. Despite the slowdown in jobs growth, hourly earnings rose, the length of the workweek increased, the unemployment rate held steady and the participation rate rose. Overall, the report provides mixed signals.