By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. job market\u00a0rebounded<\/a>\u00a0in August as employers added a surprising 162,000 jobs. The unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.1%.<\/p>\n The jobs report, issued by the Labor Department Friday, could be good news for President Donald Trump two months before midterm elections in which the health of the economy is\u00a0weighing on voters\u2019<\/a>\u00a0minds.<\/p>\n Hiring far exceeded the 65,000 forecasters had expected, according to a poll by FactSet. Labor Department revisions also looked good, adding 55,000 to June and July payrolls. Employers created 21,000 jobs in July; the Labor Department had originally reported that they\u2019d cut 23,000.<\/p>\n And the U.S. labor force \u2014 the number of people working or looking for work \u2014 jumped by 683,000 last month after falling in June and July.<\/p>\n Companies have been contending with a shortage of workers \u2014 the result of President Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0immigration crackdown<\/a>\u00a0and the retirement of baby boomers \u2014 and some are responding by using technology for tasks that human beings used to do.<\/p>\n But employers have been reluctant to let go of the staff they have, so most Americans enjoy unusual job security and unemployment is low.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very strange labor market,\u2019\u2019 David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, wrote in a commentary Monday.<\/p>\n The No. 1 puzzler: Hiring is weak, but layoffs are rare.<\/p>\n Employers haven\u2019t been eager to take on new workers. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that\u00a0gross hiring \u2014 before subtracting people who lost or left their jobs \u2014 fell 5%<\/a>\u00a0to fewer than 5.1 million new jobs.<\/p>\n The United States doesn\u2019t need as many jobs as it did until recently to keep the national unemployment rate from rising. Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown and baby boomer retirements mean fewer people are competing for work. More than 1.3 million people have dropped out of the U.S. labor force over the past year.<\/p>\n