The U.S. jobless numbers were released Friday, and despite adding the fewest number of jobs in eight months, the unemployment rate actually went down.

The Labor Department says employers added 142,000 jobs in August.

That snaps a six-month streak of hiring above 200,000.

Analysts were surprised because the most recent economic data suggested the economy was growing at a healthy pace.

The unemployment rate did drop to 6.1 percent, but officials say that's because fewer people were actively looking for work.