WASHINGTON
Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, a glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend. But the unemployment rate rose because not enough jobs were created to absorb the growing number of people looking for work.
Companies added a net total of 67,000 new jobs last month and both July and June's private-sector job figures were upwardly revised, the Labor Department said yesterday.
Stocks surged after the report's release. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 128 points yesterday to close at 10,447.93, its fourth straight day of gains. The strong start to September marked a turnaround from a dismal performance in August.
While the report hardly suggests that the economy is out of danger, it's a reassuring sign after weeks of troubling data, and comes after some encouraging economic figures in the past week.
Scott Brown, an economist at Raymond James, said he sees no sign of the country slipping back into recession.
"You're still seeing broad-based job gains. It's not strong, but it's positive," Brown said.
Overall, the economy lost 54,000 jobs as 114,000 temporary census positions came to an end. For the first time this year, the manufacturing sector lost jobs — down a net total of 27,000 for the month. The auto industry accounted for 22,000 of those lost jobs, the department said. But those losses were largely because of a shift in the timing of the industry's summer shutdowns.
State and local governments shed 10,000 positions and have had net jobs losses in every month but one this year.
Temporary employment rose by nearly 17,000, after a slight loss in July. That indicates employers are looking to boost their work forces, but are reluctant to do so permanently. Temporary hiring averaged 45,000 a month from October to May, but has since slowed.
The jobless rate rose to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July. More than 500,000 Americans resumed their job searches in August, which drove up the jobless rate. When the unemployed stop looking for work, they are no longer counted in the jobless rate. It's the first time the labor force has grown since April.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group, said that the U.S. service sector grew for the eighth straight month in August, but the pace of growth slowed. The service sector accounts for about 80 percent of the nation's jobs, including health care, construction and financial services.
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