Business
Labor Department: 187,000 Jobs Added in August, Unemployment Still Went Up to 3.8%
The Labor Department released data indicating employers in the US increased their payrolls by 187,000 people in August.
To 3.8 percent, the jobless rate increased.
According to the Labor Department's preliminary estimate for July, the economy created 187,000 new jobs, and the unemployment rate decreased to 3.5 percent. This was reduced by the government on Friday, making it appear that only 157,000 jobs were created. The June report was revised down by 80,000 to 105,000. Over the prior 12 months, employment has grown an average of 271,000 per month.
According to economist predictions in the Econoday survey, the economy would create 170,000 new jobs. The range of predictions was 40,000 to 190,000. The large range shows that there is a lot of ambiguity regarding the health of the labor market.
For the first time in a few months, the labor force participation rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 62.8 percent in August.
The typical workweek lengthened by 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours. The average workweek in manufacturing stayed the same at 40.1 hours for the fifth month in a row, and overtime decreased by 0.1 hour to 3.0 hours. Production and nonsupervisory employees' typical workweek increased by 0.1 hour to 33.8 hours.
To $33.82, the average hourly wage increased by 0.2 percent. The average hourly wage has climbed by 4.3 percent over the last year. Nonsupervisory and manufacturing workers in the private sector saw a gain in average hourly pay of 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $29.00.
The Labor Department reported earlier this week that the number of job openings on the last day of July was 8.8 million, which was less than the lowest end of the forecasted range. This may indicate a decline in the need for labor.
Employers, however, continue to retain employees. The number of jobless claims, a barometer for layoffs, decreased by 4,000 last week to 227,000. The claims' four-week moving average, which lessens weekly volatility, increased by 250 to 237,500.
As per a survey issued by payroll processor ADP on Tuesday, employers drastically reduced hiring in August. According to the ADP Research Institute's monthly report on employment in the private sector, private payrolls increased by 177,000 this month, down from 371,000 the month before.
In both June and July, the monthly jobs data came in lower than anticipated, ending a run of several months during which the jobs numbers usually came in higher than expected.
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