Business

Jobs growth rate 'sluggish'

AMERICA posted a "sluggish" jobs growth rate last month, adding just 142,000 jobs despite adding an average monthly gain of 212,000 over the last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed.

Part of the slower growth was attributed to a loss of 17,000 food and beverage jobs as a result of a supermarket store strike. But there were some bright spots in the US August jobs report - wage growth, a crucial sign of the strength of the world's largest economy, ticked up slightly.

Average hourly earnings were said to be growing at 2.1 per cent year over year. US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen has previously indicated that wages are a crucial factor in the Fed's analysis of the state of the health of the US jobs market.

Employment in the car industry also dipped less than expected, as fewer workers were laid off for factory retooling.

Growth in the professional and business services also continued to lead the recovery, with an additional 47,000 jobs adding in August, bringing the yearly total to 639,000.