156,000 jobs added in August

The latest From the BLS Employment Report:

The Labor Department released its August jobs report on Friday morning, providing the most updated snapshot of the American economy.

The August jobs report showed an increase in total nonfarm employment by 156,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent, and is expected to drop further in the coming months. The largest employment increases in August occurred in manufacturing, construction, professional and technical services, health care and mining.

The number of open positions is at an all-time high, but businesses are struggling to hire qualified workers. The last time that the labor market was this tight was around the year 2000 during the technology boom.

Economists’ predictions

Economists had expected employment gains of 180,000. Actual gains of 156,000 did not meet those expectations. The June report was revised down from 231,000 to 210,000 jobs, and July’s report was revised down from 209,000 to 189,000. These revisions put employment gains in June and July at 41,000 less than previously reported. However, this is not cause for alarm given the tight labor market.

 

This Month’s Jobs Report

Let’s break down the numbers from this month’s jobs report

In August, hourly wages increased by $0.03 to $26.39 per hour, following a 9 cent increase in July. This brings the year-over-year wage percentage increase to 2.5 percent. The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick to 4.4 percent.