Breaking-Jobs Report Indicates Slowdown

Payrolls rose by only 22,000 in August, significantly below the predicted Non Farm payroll increase of 75,000. The unemployment rate edged up from 4.2 to 4.3%. This as the Fed meets to discuss decreasing interest rates in just 11 days. Part of the drag on jobs is the ongoing reductions at the federal government level, with an estimated 10-thousand jobs per month being lost. This number could increase in October since many workers took deals that allowed them to be paid through the end of September.