JOB GROWTH SLOWS – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:  The U.S. still added jobs last month, but the total was disappointing.  From Reuters: 

U.S. payrolls rose less than expected in August, but a drop in the unemployment rate to a near 7-1/2-year low of 5.1 percent and an acceleration in wages kept alive prospects of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike later this month.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 173,000 last month as the manufacturing sector lost the most jobs since July 2013, the Labor Department said on Friday. It marked a slowdown from July's upwardly revised gain of 245,000 and was the smallest rise in employment in five months.

The report, however, may have been tarnished by a statistical fluke that in recent years has frequently led to sharp upward revisions to payroll figures for August after initial weak readings.

Indicating that the slowdown in job growth was likely not reflective of the economy's true health, payrolls data for June and July were revised to show 44,000 more jobs created than previously reported. In addition, average hourly earnings increased 8 cents, the biggest rise since January, and the workweek rose to 34.6 hours.

COMMENT:  The issue here goes well beyond "job growth."  What kinds of jobs are growing?  Are wages for the average family increasing?  What are our prospects for the future? 

Most surveys show that Americans remain apprehensive.  That feeling isn't helped when they look at a volatile stock market and uncertainty around the world.

September 4,  2015