Unemployment, Economy | featured news

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 on food stamps hit a record high in June, and economists don't expect much improvement as long as unemployment remains high. Those receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program numbered 46.37 million, the government said in a report that hit just days ahead of the monthly nonfarm payrolls report, which the Labor Department releases Friday.

Spanish jobless claims rose at the slowest pace in six years in August, the country's labor ministry said, a sign that surging unemployment in the euro zone's fourth-largest economy is leveling off.

Democrats say answering the question of whether Americans are better off now than they were four years ago requires some context. Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren tells NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that people should remember how far the economy fell and how hard it is to get back from a time when the stock market was crashing and the auto industry was a mess. She says the real issue is who has the best plan to move forward.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke makes clear in a letter to a House lawmaker that he thinks the Fed can do more to bolster the economic recovery and help reduce unemployment.

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.

The state's labor market showed continued resilience in July as California employers added 25,200 nonfarm jobs in July, continuing a 12-month streak of job gains. With that figure, the state posted the largest month-over-month increase in the country, but the unemployment rate was unchanged at 10.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

U.S. employers in July hired the most workers in five months, but an increase in the jobless rate to 8.3 percent could keep prospects of further monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve on the table.