The U.S. economy added 22,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department reported Friday, as the unemployment rate edged up to 4.3 percent—figures that come amid growing questions about the reliability of the government’s closely watched monthly employment data and criticism of the Federal Reserve for holding off on cutting interest rates despite a slowdown in hiring.

Economists had expected employers to add 77,000 workers to payrolls, with estimates ranging from 59,000 to 110,000, according to Econoday’s survey. They correctly forecasted unemployment would rise to 4.3 percent.

Private sector payrolls rose by 38,000. Government payrolls shrank by 16,000.

The August report follows a troubling pattern of significant downward revisions that have called into question the accuracy of the initial j

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