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US job growth slowed sharply in August, but White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the numbers will probably look stronger once revisions are made.
“It’s a little bit of a disappointing job number, but I pretty much expect it’s going to revise up,” Hassett told CNBC in an interview on Friday.
He added that housing remained a concern: “The housing sector is still a disappointment. It’s something we’re studying closely at the White House.”
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by 22,000 last month, well below expectations. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.3 per cent.
That is less than one-third of the 75,000 new jobs expected by economists who were surveyed by Dow Jones ahead of the report.
President Donald Trump on August 1 fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her of manipulating jobs report data for political purposes.
McEntarfer was terminated hours after the BLS reported that just 73,000 nonfarm jobs were added in July, which was below market expectations.
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BLS on the same day sharply revised downward the previously reported job numbers for June and May.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick earlier Friday told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the new BLS jobs numbers report would be more accurate due to Trump’s firing of McEntarfer.
Lutnick said that was because “you’ll take out the people who are just trying to create noise against the president.”
