
Payrolls rose less than projected in August and the unemployment rate was unexpectedly driven down by Americans leaving the labor force, boosting the odds of additional Federal Reserve easing to spur a faltering recovery.
The
economy added 96,000 workers after a revised 141,000 increase in July
that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures
showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 92 economists
surveyed by Bloomberg called for a gain of 130,000. The jobless rate
fell to 8.1 percent.
Treasuries and gold rose on bets the figures make it more likely Fed
policy makers will expand record monetary stimulus next week after
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke called unemployment a “grave concern.” The report dealt a blow to President Barack Obama one day after he accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for a second term.
“This is definitely a setback for the labor market and the economy,” said Michael Feroli,
chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York and former
economist for the Fed. “This clearly validates Bernanke’s concern. We
have Europe, the fiscal cliff, and it is a generally cautious business
environment.”
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves
inversely to price, fell one basis point to 1.67 percent. Gold futures
for December delivery climbed 2 percent to $1,740.50 an ounce, a
six-month high. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.4 percent
to 1,437.92 at the close of trading in New York, its highest level
since January 2008.
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