U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in August, and the unemployment rate held at 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The gain was substantially larger than the average monthly increase of 31,000 over the previous 12 months. The report draws on separate household and establishment surveys, which measure labor-force status and payroll employment through different samples.
The largest August gains were concentrated in food services and drinking places, which added 59,000 jobs, and local government education, which added 42,000. Employment in the information sector fell. Most other major industries changed little over the month, including manufacturing, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, professional and business services, and health-related categories outside the named gains.
Revisions also changed the picture of the early summer. BLS raised June’s payroll change from 20,000 to 31,000 and July’s from a loss of 23,000 to a gain of 21,000. Together, the two revisions added 55,000 jobs to the previously reported totals. BLS makes those revisions as more businesses and government agencies submit reports and as seasonal factors are recalculated.
Average hourly earnings for private nonfarm workers rose by 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $37.75 in August. Earnings were 3.1% higher than a year earlier. The average workweek edged up by one tenth of an hour to 34.4 hours, while the manufacturing workweek rose to 40.5 hours and manufacturing overtime remained at 3.1 hours.
The release is an initial monthly estimate rather than a final count. Future revisions can alter the total and the sector distribution, as the changes to June and July demonstrate. BLS scheduled the next national employment report, covering September, for October 2; separate inflation reports due before then will add price data to the current employment record.