The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in August, less than economists expected. The unemployment rate remain unchanged at 3.7%. Among the sectors were job creation increased was federal government, health care and financial services.
The increase in government jobs was largely due to the hiring of temporary workers to prepare for the 2020 Census set to take place next August.
The labor force participation rate ticked up slightly to 63.2%, but is virtually unchanged, on net, this year.
Average hourly earnings for employees increased by 11 cents to $28.11. They have increased by 3.2% over the past year.
Health care added 24,000 jobs in the month, while employment in professional and business services continued its upward trend with +37,000 jobs added.
The mining industry saw the biggest drop in employment, down 6,000 jobs for the month. The construction, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing industries all saw little change. Hiring in these industries have slowed compared to 2018.
Photo by White House Archives