Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 142,000 in August and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.2%.
- Jobs gains were below consensus among economists of 160,000 jobs gained and the average monthly gain of 202,000 over the prior 12 months.
- The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised down by 61,000, from +179,000 to +118,000, and the change for July was revised down by 25,000, from +114,000 to +89,000. With these revisions, employment in June and July combined is 86,000 lower than previously reported.
- Construction added 34,000 jobs in August and health care added 31,000 jobs.
- Employment in manufacturing fell by 24,000 jobs in August.
- In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by $0.14 to $35.21.
- The average workweek for all private employees rose 0.1 hours to 34.3 hours in August.
- The labor force participation rate changed little at 62.7% and is 0.7% below its February 2020 level.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor employment.