WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added just 22,000 jobs last month as the labor market continued to cool under uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s economic policies .

Hiring decelerated from 79,000 in July, the Labor Department said Friday, and came in below the roughly 80,000 economists had expected for August. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, also worse than expected and the highest level since 2021.

When the Labor Department put out a disappointing jobs report a month ago, an enraged Trump responded by firing the economist in charge of compiling the numbers and nominating a loyalist to replace her.

Talking to reporters Thursday night at a dinner with wealthy tech executives, Trump had seemed to shrug off whatever hiring numbers would come out Friday. “The real numbers t

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