By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy added a modest 169,000 jobs in August, but more people dropped out of the labor force and the number of positions created in July was slashed, the government reported Friday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected an increase of 173,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, ticked down to 7.3% from 7.4%, but that was because fewer people were looking for work. The labor force participation rate fell to 63.2%, the lowest level since the summer of 1978. Employment gains for July and June were lowered by a combined 74,000, with the biggest revision taking place in July, the Labor Department said. The number of new jobs created in July was slashed to 104,000 from 162,000 - the smallest gain since June 2012. And June's job gains were trimmed to 172,000 from 188,000. The private sector added 152,000 jobs in August and government increased employment by 17,000. Average hourly wages rose 5 cents to $24.05, while the average workweek edged up 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours.
