According to the “Employment Situation Summary” released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. labor market is experiencing a continued hiring slowdown.
The U.S. added 22,000 jobs in August, a sharp drop from 79,000 jobs the month before. The unemployment rate increased to 4.3%, but it stayed at a historically low level.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected payrolls to increase by 75,000.
The health care sector once again drove job growth, adding 31,000 new positions.
The U.S. added an average of about 28,000 jobs over the three months ending in July, significantly fewer than the 196,000 jobs added on average during the previous three months.
Friday’s jobs report showed a downward revision for June, indicating the U.S. labor market lost 13,000 jobs that month, marking the first monthly job loss since December 2020.
Although hiring was slow, average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% for the month, meeting analyst estimates.
The report was the first since President Donald Trump fired former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
