Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief Friday after the August jobs report signaled economic resilience, calming recession fears that had escalated following weak labor data in July and earlier this week.
The U.S. economy added 142,000 nonfarm payrolls in August, up from the previous month's downwardly revised 89,000 but falling short of the expected 160,000.
The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2%, meeting expectations, while wage growth showed strength. Average hourly earnings advanced by 0.4% to $35.21, surpassing the 0.3% forecast. On a year-over-year basis, wages rose 3.8%, beating July's 3.6% and the 3.7% consensus estimate.
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