August jobs report breaks 6-month streak of strong hiring

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The Labor Department reported Friday U.S. employers added just 142,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 6.1 percent.

The numbers are disappointing after six straight months of employers adding more than 200,000 jobs per month -- the longest stretch since 1997. The unemployment rate falling from 6.2 percent in July was encouraging to economists.

Part-time jobs still outnumbers full-time positions and freelancers comprise 30 percent of the economy, reports CNN.

Professional and business services added 47,000 jobs, health care was just behind with 42,000 and construction added 20,000. Federal, state and local governments added 8,000 jobs.

"This figure is a marker of the progress that has been made, but also a reminder that more must still be done to create jobs, especially for the long-term unemployed, and grow the middle class. Although the pace of job gains in August was below recent months, the broader trends are moving in the right direction," White House Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman said in a statement.

"Nothing alters our fundamental view that the labor market is broadly improving," Mike Schenk, chief economist of the Credit Union National Association, told USA Today.