Jobs report expected to show modest hiring gain amid inflation and rate-hike concerns

The Labor Department is expected to release August employment figures on Friday that would show U.S. employers added roughly 53,000 jobs, a rebound from an unexpected loss of 23,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 4.1%, a level considered low by historical standards.

The report comes as the economy faces higher borrowing costs after a bond selloff and rising oil prices linked to renewed fighting between the United States and Iran. Inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, standing at 3.4% in July, the latest month on record.

Financial markets see a roughly 50% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise its policy rate by a quarter point at its September 16 meeting, a move that could curb inflation but also risk slowing hiring. Investors are watching the jobs data for clues on the labor market’s resilience.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who took office in May, said the central bank should prioritize price stability. > "Inflation is running above our 2% target so the Fed's predominant focus right now should be on prices," Warsh said at the Fed's annual summer gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. > "If the Fed gets inflation wrong and judges the economy wrong, who gets the worst of it? Not the financial high-fliers. Hard-working Americans are the ones left to deal with inflation that is too high or jobs that suddenly appear less secure."