The U.S. unemployment rate edged lower to 4.7% in August as job creation was slightly better than Wall Street analysts had forecast.

Last month’s jobless figure was down from the five-month high of 4.8% seen in July, the U.S. Labor Department said today.

U.S. employers added 128,000 new jobs to their payrolls, topping the 120,000 to 125,000 additions that had been predicted.

“The U.S. economy is slowing, holding job growth to a modest pace which, in turn, is keeping wage inflation in check,” BMO Nesbitt Burns senior economist Michael Gregory said in a commentary.

“This is just what Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke ordered, and the Fed should remain in pause mode for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Fed halted its run of interest rate hikes aimed at cooling the economy to keep inflation pressures under control.

Canadian employment figures for August will be released on September 8.