Economy, Jobs | featured news

Consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose in early September to its highest level in four months as Americans were more upbeat about their economic and job prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

Producer prices rose by the most in three years in August as energy costs surged, but underlying inflation pressures remained contained, keeping the door open to a further easing of monetary policy.

U.S. employers posted fewer jobs in July than in June, the latest evidence that hiring is weak.

Dutch electronics company Royal Philips Electronics announced a further $382.7 million of cost savings and said another 2,200 jobs will be lost globally.

"It took 10 years to get out of the Great Depression," said [Ross] Baker. He said people shouldn't be surprised "if this recovery is half as long..." But, [Nigel] Gault added, "I'm more optimistic that whoever wins the presidency, the next four years will be much better than the past four years."

President Obama said Friday that the job growth reflected in the latest employment report is “not good enough” but suggested things would get better quicker if Congress would cooperate.

The economy added only 96,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department reported this morning; Republicans quickly pounced on the slow job growth, the morning after the Democrats wrapped up their convention in Charlotte.

U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs last month, a weak figure that could slow any momentum President Barack Obama hoped to gain from his speech to the Democratic National Convention. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent in July, but only because more people gave up looking for work. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively searching.

Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, and a private survey showed businesses stepped up hiring in August. The data sketched a brighter outlook for the job market one day before the government reports on August employment.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week while US manufacturing improved only slightly in August, worrisome signs for an economy struggling to create enough jobs.