By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- The U.S. economy added 1,371 million nonfarm jobs in August, roughly in line with expectations, in further evidence of a gradual recovery from the disastrous second quarter.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that private payrolls rose 1.027 million, more than twice the estimate of ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) that was published on Wednesday. However, that was still short of expectations for a rise of 1.20 million.
The overall employment numbers were boosted by around 238,000 related to hiring for the 2020 census.
The unemployment rate fell more sharply than expected, to 8.4% of the working population from 10.2% in July. Adult participation in the labor force edged up to 61.7 from 61.4.