U.S. unemployment falls to 50-year low of 3.5%

Washington, United States (AFP) — America’s jobless rate tumbled in September to its lowest level in 50 years, according to government data released Friday, delighting the White House even though it may not assuage recession fears as President Donald Trump’s trade wars persist.

Meanwhile, with a strong dollar and slowing global economy, the US trade deficit widened in August, as the trade conflicts ate into export growth.

Trump immediately cheered the good jobs data, claiming his economic record should shield him from efforts to impeach him, and shortly after said a trade deal with China was possible soon.

But there was less-than-stellar news as well: The pace of job creation was the slowest in four months and wages fell, while the manufacturing workforce also shrank for the second time this year.

Wall Street was reassured by the news, with the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day with a gain of 1.4 percent.

Unemployment fell two tenths of a point to 3.5 percent, matching the rate last recorded in December 1969, and well below what analysts had forecast, according to the Labor Department.

Employers added a total of 136,000 net new positions, which was below expectations, with notable slowdowns in education, government, finance and business services.

The August job gain was revised up sharply to 168,000, nearly 40,000 more than originally reported.

But signs of the slowdown were unambiguous: At 157,000, the average for the last three months is now well below the 223,000 a month recorded during 2018.

“Breaking News: Unemployment Rate, at 3.5 percent, drops to a 50 YEAR LOW. Wow America, lets impeach your President (even though he did nothing wrong!),” Trump tweeted.

The hotly anticipated jobs report also landed amid a raft of worrisome economic data showing Trump’s trade wars have put a dent in the business environment and suggesting hiring should slow in the coming months.

But Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said Friday that although the economy “faces some risks, overall it is… in a good place.”