U.S. employment returned in August with a net increase of 162,000 jobs, according to the latest release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Revisions to June and July added another 55,000 jobs and switched July’s net loss to a gain. The strongest gains occurred in the Leisure/Hospitality industry (+62,000 jobs), particularly the food services and drinking places sector (+59,200 jobs). Government employment also rebounded with a 35,000-job increase as local government education (teachers) began the new school year. Education/Health Services (+29,000 jobs) and Construction (+22,000 jobs) added significantly to August’s gains, while Manufacturing and Trade/Transportation/Utilities both added 16,000 jobs for the month. Monthly gains in the Professional/Business Services, Mining & Logging and Other Services industries were moderate, but the tech-heavy Information and Financial Activities industries lost a combined 34,000 jobs in August across several subsectors. Meanwhile, the U3 seasonally adjusted headline unemployment rate (from the survey of households) registered at 4.1% in August, unchanged from July.
This post is part of a series analyzing employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more on this data, read previous posts on Job Growth.
