US jobs figures offer relief that labor market continues to cool: Report

​​​​​​​By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Recent US jobs figures offered relief that the labor market continues to cool at a sustainable pace in the world's biggest economy, according to a report released Friday.

"Job gains have softened over the past year, but indicators of layoffs and unemployment claims still remain low by historical standards," said Mitchell Barnes, an economist for the Labor Markets Institute within the Economy, Strategy, and Finance Center of The Conference Board.

"This may be what a soft landing in the labor market looks like. Many labor market metrics are now at or slightly below 2019 levels but without signs of deterioration," he added.

The American economy added 142,000 jobs in August, less than estimates of 164,000, according to figures released by the Labor Department. Job additions for July were also revised down 25,000, from 114,000 to 89,000.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in August, from 4.3% in July, and was in line with estimates.

Barnes said the recent jobs figures should not alter the US Federal Reserve’s course.

"We continue to expect September’s rate cut will be 25 basis points — signaling normalization rather than outright weakness," he said. "The turn in interest rates should help boost business activity and improve the hiring outlook into 2025."