The US markets ended lackluster trade mostly in green on Friday following the release of a mixed employment from the Labor Department. The closely watched report showed modestly stronger than expected job growth in the month of August, the report also showed an unexpected increase in the unemployment rate. The Labor Department said employment climbed by 187,000 jobs in August compared to street estimates for the addition of 170,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate climbed to 3.8 percent in August from 3.5 percent in July. Street had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged. With the unexpected increase, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting a matching rate in March 2022.
The advance by the unemployment rate came as the size of the labor force surged by 736,000 persons, while the household survey measure of employment rose by 222,000 persons. The increase in the unemployment rate added to optimism about the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged later this month, but traders continued to express some uncertainty about future meetings. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a slowdown in the pace of contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity. The ISM said its manufacturing PMI rose to 47.6 in August from 46.4 in July, although a reading below 50 still indicates a contraction. Street had expected the index to inch up to 47.0.
Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.80 points or 0.33 percent to 34,837.71 and S&P 500 was up by 8.11 points or 0.18 percent to 4,515.77, while Nasdaq lost 3.15 points or 0.02 percent to 14,031.82.
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