U.S. added more jobs in August

Manufacturing cuts jobs; construction adds jobs

Companies in the U.S. added more jobs than forecast in August,according to a
report today by the U.S. Labor Department.

Private payrolls that exclude government agencies rose 67,000, after a revised 107,000 increase in July that was more than initially estimated, the Labor Department said.

Manufacturing payrolls decreased by 27,000, more than the survey forecast of a 10,000 increase, the fist uptick since late last year.

Construction companies surprisingly added 19,000 workers, the first gain in four months.

Nonfarm payrolls fell 54,000 last month, matching the level of revised losses recorded the previous month, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economists had predicted a drop of 110,000. The unemployment rate edged up to 9.6%, as expected, after holding at 9.5% for the previous two months.