Star Metro - US shows strong job growth in August in boon to Trump ahead of midterms

Employment in the United States grew by 162,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 percent, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said in a statement.

Employment expanded in the restaurant and bar sectors, and jobs in public schools bounced back from a contraction a month earlier, the BLS said.

The strong report also revised up job numbers for June and July by a combined 55,000, indicating the US labor market remains in a state of steady growth.

The new data will be a boon for Trump, whose Republican Party is facing a stern test from Democrats in upcoming midterm elections in November, with the state of the world's largest economy a key issue for voters.

The White House hailed the report as illustrating the administration's performance on the economy.

"The August jobs report is the latest data point showing how Americans are benefitting from the Trump administration's pro-growth policies," said White House spokesperson Kush Desai.

"The best is yet to come with even more job, wage, and economic growth in store for everyday Americans."

Stock markets had a mixed reaction to the news, with all eyes on the Federal Reserve's next interest rate-setting meeting later this month.

Strong job growth indicates a healthy labor market, which would allow the central bank to focus on its other mandate: keeping long-term inflation to its two-percent target.

The Fed has missed that target for more than five years, with consumer inflation running at 3.3 percent in July. August data is due next week.

Prices rises have been fuelled by Trump's war on Iran -- which has sent energy prices skyrocketing -- and his signature tariff policies. Inflation hit a three-year high in May, but has dropped since then.

Several Fed policymakers have indicated that they would be open to raising interest rates if August's data does not show a continuing downward trend.

Three of the committee's 12 voting members dissented at its last meeting in July, calling for an immediate hike.

- Restaurants, bars drive growth -

Restaurants and bars added 59,000 jobs in August, well above the average gain of 12,000 over the last year, the BLS said.

Employment in the local government education sector -- which is mostly made up of public schools -- increased by 42,000, largely offsetting a decrease from the previous month due to summer holidays. Overall employment in the sector has shown little net change since January.

The health care sector, one of the major drivers of job growth in the United States as the population ages, added 13,000 jobs, a slower expansion than its average over the last year.

Construction and manufacturing also made gains in the month, the data showed.

The information technology sector, however, lost 23,000 jobs, with cuts in computing infrastructure, data processing and web hosting. Job losses in the sector have averaged around 8,000 per month for the last year, according to BLS data.

Average hourly earnings increased by 3.1 percent year-on-year, still lagging behind inflation -- indicating that many workers are seeing their salaries contract in real terms.

M.Johnston--SMC