The U.S. economy added 22,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in August, according to the first federal jobs report released since President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Economists expected the U.S. to gain 75,000 jobs last month with the unemployment rate rising slightly to 4.3 percent, up from 4.2 percent in July, according to consensus projections.

The August jobs report comes as Trump seeks a major change atop the BLS, a non-political statistical agency thrust into a partisan battle.

Trump fired former BLS Director Erika McEntarfer, a veteran of both Republican and Democratic administrations, last month after the dismal July jobs report. Not only did the report show the U.S. adding just 72,000 jobs in July, but included large downw

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