For the 95th month in a row, U.S. employers added payrolls, extending the record of the longest continuous job expansion. In August 2018, 201,000 jobs were added and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9 %. This surpassed economists’ expectations of about 190,000 jobs. Additionally, the labor force participation rate nudged down to 62.7%.
Revised jobs for June and July 2018
The Bureau of Labor Statics also reported revised job gains for June and July for this year. June’s job numbers were revised to 208,000 from the originally reported 248,000. For July, the number was revised down from 157,000 to 147,000. This revision equates to a combined decreased of 50,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.
After these revisions, job gains have averaged 185,000 per month of the last three months.
Average hourly earnings increase
Average hourly earnings rose by $0.10 for an average hourly rate of $27.16. Over the last year, average hourly earnings have increased by $0.77 or 2.9%.
Employment numbers by industry
For the third month in a row, the Professional & Business Services industry led the way in August with 53,000 jobs gained. Over the past 12 months, the Professional & Business Services industry added a total of 519,000 jobs.
The Healthcare industry followed with an additional 33,000 jobs added in August. In the past year, Healthcare added a total of 301,000 jobs. Ambulatory services alone added over 21,000 jobs over the month of August. Wholesale Trade employment added 22,000 jobs this past month and has added a total of 99,000 jobs over the past 12 months.
Transportation and Warehousing rose by 20,000 in August for a grand total of 173,000 jobs gained over the past year. Mining increased by 6,000 jobs over the month. And since October 2016, Mining has added 104,000 jobs, almost entirely in support activities for mining.
The Construction industry continued to trend upwards with a gain of 23,000 jobs. Construction employers have added 297,000 jobs over the past year.
Manufacturing employment slightly changed in August for a loss of 3,000 jobs. Over the year, the Manufacturing industry was up by 254,000 jobs.
The employment in other major industries, including retail trade, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government showed little change over the month.
Check out our infographic below for more stats from the August 2018 Jobs Report:
