Federal Reserve officials are likely to pay close attention to Friday’s jobs report as they move toward their first rate cut since the 2020 pandemic downturn. The fresh data gave them reasons for both comfort and concern.
Unemployment eased slightly to 4.2 percent in August, from 4.3 percent in July.
At the same time, hiring was slower than economists had expected and previous months were revised downward. Altogether, the report’s details suggested that the job market is slowing — but not imploding — more than two years into the Fed’s campaign to slow the economy with higher interest rates.
Fed policymakers raised interest rates starting in 2022 to tap the brakes on a hot economy. At the time, hiring was rapid and wage growth robust, and officials worried that a burst of rapid inflation would not fade on its own against that backdrop. They ultimately lifted borrowing costs to…
