The US Labor Department reported Friday that the economy added far fewer jobs than expected in August, deepening a hiring slowdown and bolstering expectations for an interest-rate cut at the Federal Reserve's September meeting. The unemployment rate ticked higher.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had anticipated modest gains, but the reported total undershot forecasts. The miss extends a run of weak monthly prints and downward revisions that has unsettled markets since spring.

The data arrived as President Donald Trump renewed his public attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he has repeatedly urged to slash borrowing costs. Trump has moved to reshape the central bank's board and has questioned the institution's independence, prompting warnings from economists and former Fed officials.

Traders increased bets on a quarter-point cut when the Federal Open Market Committee meets September 15 and 16, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Treasury yields fell and the dollar weakened after the release, while the White House seized on the numbers to press its case for looser policy.

Powell has signaled the Fed would weigh softening labor conditions against still-elevated inflation, some of it tied to Trump's tariffs. Democratic lawmakers cautioned that political interference in rate decisions risked undermining confidence in the central bank.