White House Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett Calls August Jobs Report ‘Disappointing’, Expects It To Be Revised Upwards: Report

White House Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett on Friday reportedly termed the August jobs report “disappointing,” an hour after the Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed nonfarm payroll additions during the month stood at 22,000, significantly lower than expected.

In an interview with CNBC, Hassett said he expects the BLS to revise the data upwards. Analysts expected payroll additions to stand at 75,000 in August.

At 22,000, the nonfarm payroll additions in August were also significantly lower than those in July, which were revised upward to 79,000 from 73,000, according to the BLS report. 

The unemployment rate rose in August to 4.3%, continuing the upward trend observed in July, when it increased to 4.2% from 4.1% in June. The number of people currently seeking a job but not having one stood at 6.4 million in August, up from 6.18 million in July and 6.03 million in June.

Hassett underscored that the BLS has been “struggling with bad response rates” to surveys about jobs. However, earlier on Friday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he thinks BLS reports will “get better” following the firing of the agency’s chief, Erika McEntarfer.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities declined in Friday morning’s trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.4%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) edged lower by 0.04%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

Also See: EU Energy Chief Accepts Europe Is Indirectly ‘Helping Finance Putin’s War’, Says Open To US Help To Quit Russian Oil After Trump’s Criticism: Report

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