US jobs growth delivered a major surprise in August, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to consider raising interest rates at its September meeting and putting fresh pressure on stocks.
The US economy added 162,000 non-farm jobs in August, according to the latest employment report, far exceeding economists' expectations for roughly 56,000. July's payroll figure was also revised from an initially reported decline of 23,000 to a 21,000 increase. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%.
