The U.S. economy added 142,000 jobs in August, with the national unemployment rate decreasing slightly to 4.2%, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released on Friday.
Employment growth in August surpassed recent monthly averages but fell short of the average monthly gain of 202,000 over the past year. Notable job gains were observed in construction (+34,000) and healthcare (+31,000).
Manufacturing employment saw a decline in August (-24,000), driven by a reduction of 25,000 jobs in durable goods industries.
The unemployment rate for August was down by 0.1% from July’s rate of 4.3%. However, on an annual basis, the August jobless rate of 4.2% remains higher than the 3.8% recorded in August 2023.
The labor force participation rate, which indicates the percentage of people employed or actively seeking work, held steady at 62.7% in August and has shown little change over the year. Similarly, the employment-population ratio remained unchanged at 60.0% for August but is down by 0.4 percentage points over the year.
The BLS also revised its preliminary nonfarm employment totals for July downward by 25,000 from an initial estimate of 114,000 to 89,000. June’s figures were also revised downward by 61,000 to a total of 118,000. These revisions mean that summer employment for June and July combined is now reported as being lower by 86,000 jobs than previously stated.
In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by $0.14 or 0.4%, reaching $35.21 per hour. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.8%.
