News

Nonfarm payroll employment inched up by 22,000 in August, coming in below expectations. Furthermore, June’s job gain was revised downward by 27,000 to a loss of 13,000 jobs, while July’s job gain was revised upward by 6,000 to a gain of 79,000 jobs. The 12-month average stands at 122,000 job gains per month. The unemployment rate increased 0.1% to 4.3%, while the labor force participation rate inched up 0.1% to 62.3%.

Manufacturing employment slipped by 12,000 in August, the fourth consecutive month of job losses. On the other hand, the collective job losses in June and July of 26,000 were revised upward by 7,000 jobs to a decrease of 19,000 jobs. Manufacturing employment is down 78,000 over the year. Durable goods manufacturing employment fell by 19,000 in August, while nondurable goods employment increased by 7,000. The most significant gain in manufacturing in August occurred in plastics and rubber products manufacturing, which added 4,300 jobs over the month. Meanwhile, the most significant loss occurred in transportation equipment manufacturing, which shed a whopping 14,500 jobs over the month.

The employment-population ratio stayed the same at 59.6% but is down 0.4 percentage points from a year ago. Employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons increased by 65,000 to 4.75 million but are down from 4.82 million in August 2024. Native-born employment is down 561,000 over the month but up 2,762,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign-born employment is up 50,000 over the month but down 822,000 over the year.

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm payroll employees rose 0.3%, or 10 cents, reaching $36.53. Over the past year, earnings have grown 3.7%. The average workweek for all employees stayed the same at 34.2 hours but edged down 0.1 hours to 40.0 hours for manufacturing employees.