US payrolls rise below expectations in August

The US Department of Labor reported that 151.000 new jobs were created in August. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9%. The labor force participation rate also remained steady at 62.8%. The number of new jobs created disappointed the expectations of analysts, who had forecast more than 180,000 new jobs. Furthermore the strong decrease compared to July, when they were created 275.000 new jobs (revised upward from 255,000 initially announced).

The figure was considered by FED the key to decide what to do about interest rates in the next meeting in late September. It is less likely a rate hike, at least in this month. Bankrate.com economic analyst Mark Hamrick commented: "December still seems like the best bet for a rate increase, but we still have plenty of data and an election to get behind us first, meaning even a year-end move isn’t a sure thing". 

Speaking at the Jackson Hole conference last Friday, Fed chair Janet Yellen said while the case for an interest rate hike has strengthened on an improving labour market and economic outlook, the next rate hike depends on upcoming data.

On the bond market, Treasuries yelds dropped on the minimum last 10 days, reflecting the fade speculation imminent adoption of a tightening by the Fed. The 10-year yield give way immediately after the dissemination of the data by 0.4 basis points to 1.568%; yields 2-year fall of 3.6 basis points to 0.750%; 30-year are up by 2 basis points to 2.254%.