By David Lawder
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that the U.S. still has a “good, healthy labor market” even as the pace of job growth has slowed in recent months.
Yellen told reporters in North Carolina that July’s unemployment rate of 4.3%, the highest level in three years, is still very low compared to historical norms.
The closely watched employment figures for August from the Labor Department are due to be released on Friday. The unemployment rate is expected to fall slightly to 4.2%.
However, private payrolls figures released Thursday showed employers hired the fewest workers in 3.5 years in August. The previous month’s hiring figures were revised downward, pointing to a possible sharp drop in hiring.
“While the pace of job creation has slowed, it is normal and sufficient to absorb new entrants to the labor market,” Yellen said, adding that growth remains at a brisk pace — 3% in the second quarter — with solid data on consumer spending and investment spending.
“I think we have a healthy economy and labor market,” Yellen said.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
