1st LD,Writethru: U.S. unemployment rate drops to 5.1 pct in August

The U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 173,000 in August, and the unemployment rate went down to 5.1 percent, remaining at a level which Federal Reserve considers to be full employment, data from the Labor Department showed Friday.

The payroll gains in August, while less than expected, followed advances in July and June that were stronger than previously reported. The Labor Department revised July's job gains up to 245,000 from its previous estimate of 215,000, and June's data were revised up to 245,000 from 231,000.

After revisions, employment gains in June and July combined were 44,000 more than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 221,000 per month.

The less-than-expected payroll gains were due to the job losses in manufacturing and mining sectors, suggesting strong dollar and falling energy prices continue to constrain these sectors.

The unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent, the lowest since April 2008 and at a level Federal Reserve considers to be full employment, where the unemployment rate is between 5 percent and 5.2 percent.

The number of long-term unemployed, or those jobless for 27 weeks or more, held at 2.2 million in August, accounting for 27.7 percent of the unemployed.

The labor force participation rate, the share of the working-age population employed or looking for a job, stayed at 62.6 percent for the third consecutive month.

Average hourly earnings rose by 8 cents to 25.09 U.S. dollars in August. Over the year, the figure has risen by 2.2 percent. Economists expected wage growth will accelerate as the labor market tightens.

The data will help Fed officials judge whether the labor market is showing improvement necessary for the central bank to initiate interest rate hike in its September meeting.

Some policy makers have said recent financial market volatility and weak global growth have muddied the outlook for a September rate hike. Endi