Jobs report disappoints [Google+ Hangout]

U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department said Friday, much fewer than expected.

The unemployment rate was revised down, to 8.1% from 8.3% in July, but that’s because people dropped out of the labor force.

Join us for a live discussion about the state of unemployment and the economy later Friday.

The Times will host a Google+ Hangout at 10:30 a.m. PDT with economy reporter Don Lee, markets reporter Andrew Tangel and Business deputy editor Joe Bel Bruno. We invite you to join in on the conversation by posting comments or questions below or on The Times’ Facebook and Google Plus pages or on Twitter using the #asklatimes hashtag.

LIVE VIDEO DISCUSSION: Join us at 10:30 a.m. today

In a story Friday on the jobs numbers, Don Lee writes that “the report, coming on the morning after President Obama’s nomination acceptance speech, was bad news for Obama and his supporters, who spent a considerable amount of energy during this week’s Democratic National Convention defending the president’s economic record and pushing back against Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s criticisms that the administration’s economic policies have failed.”

Lee, Tangel and Bel Bruno will discuss how Friday’s jobs numbers compare to expectations, what that says about the state of the economy, and what the stakes are for President Obama.

Here’s a video chat from yesterday anticipating today’s report:

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