US nonfarm payrolls surge in August; unemployment rate steady at 4.1%

U.S. job growth accelerated sharply in August while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, pointing to a still stable labor market and keeping an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve this month on the table.

Nonfarm payrolls surged by 162,000 jobs last month after an upwardly revised rise of 21,000 in July, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls would increase by 56,000 after a previously reported drop of 23,000 in July.

Estimates ranged from as low as a loss of 25,000 jobs to as high as a gain of 121,000. Labor market momentum had decelerated after surging in the spring, partly blamed on the oil price shock and supply chain strains from the U.S.-led war with Iran.

Ahead of the employment report, financial markets had dialed back rate hike expectations after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said at a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event on Thursday that he was inclined to argue in favor of keeping rates steady this month if upcoming data confirmed inflation pressures were cooling off. Financial markets saw a roughly 52% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's September 15-16 meeting, down from 63.2% on Wednesday, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Concerns about inflation and lack of forward guidance from the Fed have helped to boost U.S. Treasury yields, which economists see as a problem for the central bank.

Rising yields drove the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to more than a one-year high of 6.71% this week, data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac showed on Thursday, which could further undermine a struggling housing market.