boris, amara? >> reporter: our thanks to the mayor of d.c. e, pete muntean. >>> the u.s. added 315,000 jobs last month, more than analysts expected, but it did mark another month of job gains slowing down. >> and while it may have been a slower month for hiring, the strong market defied fears of a worsening economy hitting a 20th consecutive month of job growth. here is cnn's chief business correspondent christine romans to help us unpack the report. >> reporter: the labor market remains strong as we head into the labor day holiday, but hiring slowed. employers added 315,000 jobs, well below july's red hot 526,000 pace. some 3.5 million jobs added this year, and the hiring in august was broad based, led by professional and business services, health care, retail and manufacturing. the jobless rate rose to 3.7%. why? well, thanks to more people looking for work. that pushed something called the labor force participation rate up .3%. all in all, a welcome normalization in what has been an anything but