Only 22,000 jobs were added in August while unemployment reached a near-four-year high, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate rose from 4.2% to 4.3% last month, CNN reported.

The data represents the first jobs report after President Donald Trump fired former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer last month, hours after she published a weak jobs report partly based on steep downward revisions for May and June. 

Trump subsequently selected the Heritage Foundation's chief economist, E.J. Antoni, to serve as the new BLS commissioner.