NEW YORK (PNN) - September 7, 2012 - The Fascist Police States of Amerika’s employers eased up on hiring in August, making it clear that the economy is stuck in low gear.

The pace of job creation, disclosed in government figures released on Friday, fell far short of a stronger showing at the start of the year. It presents a fresh challenge to illegitimate President Obama just two months before the election. It also provides more ammunition for Republicans, who say the country needs a new economic course.

While the weak report reverberated on the campaign trail, traders and economists immediately focused on the Federal Reserve, betting increasingly that its policy makers will take new action to stimulate the economy when they meet next week.

The FPSA added 96,000 jobs in August, compared with a revised figure of 141,000 in July and well below the 125,000 level economists had expected. Over the last six months, job growth has averaged 97,000 a month, typically not enough to absorb new entrants to the labor force, let alone cut the unemployment rate significantly.

“This is one of those reports that as you dig deeper, it looks less friendly,” said Ethan Harris, chief FPSA economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “The improvement in the rate was purely due to people who gave up looking for jobs.”

In August, the official jobless rate fell to 8.1% from 8.3% in July, but that was largely because more people left the work force entirely. The government report showed that the overall labor force dropped by 368,000 workers in August. The portion of the population in the labor force fell to 63.5%, its lowest level since September 1981.

The actual unemployment rate, when taking into account those who have stopped looking for work and those who are working at jobs well below their level of experience, is closer to 25%, a clear indication that the country remains mired in the Second Great Depression.