The US Department of Labor revealed that the unemployment rate in the United States rose to 3.8% in August, the highest value since February 2022.

In July, the unemployment rate was 3.5%. Employers created 187 thousand jobs in the United States in August. In the cumulative period between June and August, 449,000 jobs were created, the lowest quarterly value in the past three years.

In the last two months, the average hourly earnings increased by 0.2%, while it increased by 4.3% compared to the same period last year. In July alone, 3.5 million Americans left their jobs in search of positions with better wages and working conditions, the lowest since February 2021.

Year-on-year inflation accelerated in July in the US, after two months of slowdown, to 3.3%.

The Federal Reserve (Fed), the US central bank, has been raising interest rates since March 2022 to control inflation, and currently the federal funds rate ranges between 5.25% and 5.50%, the highest level in 22 years.

As a result, banks make more expensive loans to individuals and businesses, which slows consumption and investment and dampens prices.