美国失业率降至近50年来最低

U.S. job growth slowed sharply in September likely as Hurricane Florence depressed restaurant and retail payrolls, but the unemployment rate fell to near a 49-year low of 3.7 percent, pointing to a further tightening in labor market conditions.

The Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report on Friday also showed a steady rise in wages, suggesting moderate inflation pressures, which could ease concerns about the economy overheating and keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 134,000 jobs last month, the fewest in a year, as the retail and leisure and hospitality sectors shed employment.

The economy needs to create roughly 120,000 jobs per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the economy's outlook was "remarkably positive" and he believed it was on the cusp of a "historically rare" era of ultra-low unemployment and tame inflation.

The U.S. central bank raised rates last week for the third time this year and removed the reference in its post-meeting statement to monetary policy remaining "accommodative."

The Labor Department said it was possible that Hurricane Florence, which lashed South and North Carolina in mid-September, could have affected employment in some industries. It said it was impossible to quantify the net effect on employment.

9月份美国就业增长放缓，很有可能是由于飓风佛罗伦萨的影响使得餐馆和零售业就业人数减少，但失业率降至近49年来的低点3.7％，表明劳动力市场更为紧俏。

劳工部周五公布的备受关注的月度就业报告也显示工资稳步上升，表明通胀压力适度，这可能缓解对经济过热的担忧，美联储得以继续逐步加息。

上月非农就业人数增加了134,000人，是一年来最少的，原因是零售业、休闲和酒店业就业人数减少。

美国经济需要每月创造大约12万个就业岗位，以跟上适龄劳动力人口的增长。

美联储主席鲍威尔周二表示，经济前景“非常乐观”，他认为这是一个“史上罕见”的超低失业率和温和通胀时代的顶端。

美国央行上周第三次加息，并在会后声明中取消了对货币政策保持“宽松”的说法。

劳工部表示，9月中旬飓风佛罗伦萨可能会影响一些行业的就业，不过无法量化这一影响。