The US economy added 142,000 jobs in August, latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal, missing expectations.

The unemployment rate in the world's largest economy dipped lower, to 6.1%.

The US economy had been averaging a monthly jobs gain of 212,000 in the 12 months prior.

Part of the sluggish jobs growth was attributed to a loss of 17,000 food and beverage jobs, possibly as a result of a supermarket store strike.

Thousands of employees of the Market Basket chain of supermarkets in the northeastern US had gone on strike in July to protest the firing of their boss. The dispute was resolved late last week.

In order to keep up with population growth, the US economy needs to add 150,000 jobs per month.