?U.S. employers added 315,000 new jobs in August, marking the 20th straight month of job growth, according to the latest employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent. Wages rose 5.2 percent year-over-year.
Continuing solid job growth is further evidence the economy continues to expand even as the gross domestic product contracted in the first half of the year, meeting the technical criteria for a recession. Employment gains were broad-based, with the biggest increases reported in professional and business services, health care and retail.
Labor demand across various measures remains strong. There were 11.2 million job openings on the last day of July, with two job openings for every unemployed person, and claims for unemployment benefits remain low.
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