WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring by U.S. employers was slower but steady in August, and hourly pay jumped — trends that should sustain the U.S. economy's record-long expansion in the coming months.

Yet with the economy still under threat from a weak global economy and President Donald Trump's trade war with China, Chairman Jerome Powell made clear Friday that the Federal Reserve is poised to cut interest rates.

The government's jobs report Friday showed that U.S. employers, for now, are still adding jobs at a modest pace. Hiring did slow to 130,000 jobs in August, below the average pace of the past si...