Yellen says US labor market healthy despite slower hiring pace

By David Lawder

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that the U.S. still has a "good healthy labor market" even though the pace of job creation has slowed in recent months.

Yellen told reporters in North Carolina that July's unemployment rate of 4.3%, a three-year high, is still very low by historical standards.

The Labor Department's closely watched jobs data for August is due on Friday, with the unemployment rate forecast to ease slightly to 4.2%.

But private payrolls data released on Thursday showed employers hired the fewest workers in 3-1/2 years in August with the prior month's hiring revised downward, hinting at a possible sharp slowdown in hiring.

"Even though the pace of job creation has slowed, it is normal and adequate to absorb new entrants into the labor market," Yellen said, adding that growth continues at a rapid pace - 3% in the second quarter - with solid data on consumer spending and investment spending.

"I think we've got a good healthy economy and labor market," Yellen said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci)