Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 315,000 in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total unemployed persons edged down to 6 million in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%.
Job growth was notable in professional and business services, health care, and retail trade
In August, leisure and hospitality added 31,000 jobs following average monthly gains of 90,000 in the first 7 months of the year. However, employment in leisure and hospitality is below its February 2020 level by 1.2 million, or 7.2%.
Employment in professional and business services continued to grow, with an increase of 68,000 in August. Within the industry, employment gains occurred in computer systems design and related services (+14,000), management and technical consulting services (+13,000), architectural and engineering services (+10,000), and scientific research and development services (+6,000), while legal services lost jobs (-9,000). Over the past 12 months, professional and business services have added 1.1 million jobs.
Employment in health care rose by 48,000 in August. with job gains in offices of physicians (+15,000), hospitals (+15,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+12,000). Health care has added 412,000 jobs over the year. Despite this growth, employment in health care is below its February 2020 level by 37,000, or 0.2 percent.
Read the BLS release.
