U.S. Economy Adds 142k Jobs In August first appeared on Floating Path
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that 142k nonfarm payrolls were added during the month of August. This follows revised payrolls gains of 212k in July and 267k in June.
A bulk of the August job gains came in the Professional Services and Education and Health Services industries.
Along with Leisure and Hospitality, these 3 industries have contributed the most to the job gains over the last 8 years. Although Construction employment grew in August, it and the Manufacturing industry have had the most difficulty recovering from the economic downturn.
The household survey shows that 367k full-time jobs were added in August, while part-time employment decreased by 327k. Since November 2007 however, when the household survey showed peak employment, full-time jobs have decreased by 3.3 million and part-time jobs have increased by 3.0 million.
Part-time employees made up 18.96% of the workforce in August, down from 19.18% in July.
Those part-time for economic reasons, workers who would prefer to be full-time but are involuntarily part-time, as a share of those part-time for noneconomic reasons decreased to 37.3% from 38.2%.
The unemployment rate (U-3) was 6.1% in August, down from 6.2% in July. The broader underemployment rate (U-6) decreased to 12.0% from 12.2%.
Youth unemployment continues to be volatile.
Unemployment for those with a high school diploma or some college has increased in consecutive months.
Blacks continue to experience the highest unemployment rate at 11.4%.
The labor force participation rate was 62.8%, down from 62.9%, while the employment-to-population ratio was unchanged at 59.0%.
Participation among men decreased to 69.2% from 69.3% and participation among women was unchanged at 56.9%.
The participation rate for prime age workers (25-54) increased to 81.1% from 80.8%.
However, since the total participation rate peaked in August 2008, participation has only risen in the 55+ age bracket.
Average weekly hours worked by production and supervisory employees were unchanged at 33.7, while average hourly earnings increased to $20.68 from $20.62. This increased average weekly earnings to $696.92, up 2.4% from a year ago.
Average duration of unemployment in August was 31.7 weeks, down from 32.4 in July and the high of 40.7 in 2011, but still elevated by historical standards.
Of those unemployed, 46.8% have been so for 15 weeks or longer.
Overall, this was not a great employment report as the number of job additions was low, but there were some silver linings: The new jobs were overwhelmingly full-time positions, the length of time people are staying unemployed is shortening, and labor force participation increased for prime age workers.
