03:11 PM EDT, 09/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The expectation of finding a new job in the US hit a record low level in August, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed Monday, just days after a soft jobs for last month report stoked fears about a slowing labor market.

The mean perceived probability of finding a job if one loses their current job slumped by 5.8 percentage points to 44.9% in August, the lowest print since the start of the series in June 2013, according to the Fed branch's latest Survey of Consumer Expectations.

"The decline was broad-based across age, education, and income groups, but it was most pronounced for those with at most a high school education," the New York Fed said in a statement.

On Friday, official data showed that the US economy added 22,000 nonfarm jobs in August. That tally was well short of a 75,000 increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The mean perceived probability of losing one's job in the next year edged higher by 0.1 percentage point to 14.5% last month, the New York Fed survey showed Monday. Median one-year-ahead earnings growth expectations dropped by 0.1 percentage point, while the mean unemployment outlook rose by 1.7 percentage points.

Median one-year inflation outlook increased by 0.1 percentage point to 3.2% in August, while the three- and five-year expectations held steady at 3% and 2.9%, respectively, according to the report.

Last month, a survey by the University of Michigan showed that US consumer sentiment fell in August amid concerns over economic health, while inflation expectations rebounded. Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently indicated a potential monetary policy pivot, saying that downside risks to employment were rising, while the effects of tariffs on inflation will likely be short lived.

Government data are expected to show Thursday that the US consumer price index increased 0.3% sequentially and 2.9% annually last month, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.

"If it is higher than expected, this week's August CPI report could help undo some of the probabilistic shift toward a (50-basis-point) cut in the Fed funds rate target on September 17," Macquarie said in a note to clients Monday. "Our baseline view is that the Fed will cut by 25 (basis points) next week, and will leave the door open to another cut in October or December. But a (50-basis-point) cut still remains highly unlikely."