Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 201,000 in August, an increase from last month’s downwardly revised reading of 147,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national unemployment rate remained at 3.9%.
Private service-providing industries gained 178,000 jobs, led by professional and business services and education and health services, which both added 53,000 jobs.
Goods-producing employment rose by 26,000 jobs during the month, as gains in construction led by adding 23,000. Manufacturing employment lost 3,000 jobs in August.
The civilian labor force participation rate ticked down to 62.7 percent. Workers unemployed for less than 14 weeks increased by 17,000, while the number of long-term unemployed, those jobless for 27 weeks or more, fell by 103,000 and accounted for 22 percent of the unemployed. The number of discouraged workers was 434,000, down slightly from a year earlier.
Average hourly earnings rose by 10 cents, settling at $27.16. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by 77 cents, or 2.9%. This is the strongest growth since the recession.
Read the BLS release.
