Labor Department and Unemployment Rate

: Hiring in August was the lowest in five months, but the government revised up the June and July job growth by a combined 44,000, according to MSNBC. From June through August, the economy generated a solid 221,000 jobs a month, up from an average of 189,000 in March through May. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate fell to 5.1% from 5.3%, the lowest since April 2008. Steady hiring could encourage the Fed to raise rates at its meeting on Sept. 16-17 for the first time in a decade. Stocks opened lower immediately after the announcement of the August numbers, as traders digested the data. Still, stock market turbulence, a persistently low inflation rate and a sharp slowdown in China could complicate its decision. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.