The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, marking the strongest monthly employment gain in five months and a sharp acceleration from July, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The August increase was substantially stronger than the average monthly gain of just 31,000 recorded over the previous 12 months, signaling a notable improvement after months of relatively weak employment growth.
Restaurants and Local Government Education Lead Gains
Employment in food services and drinking places rose by 59,000 jobs in August, well above the sector’s average monthly increase of 12,000 over the previous year.
Local government education added another 42,000 jobs, largely reversing a decline in July.
Manufacturing employment continued to trend higher, adding 16,000 jobs. Machinery manufacturing gained 6,000 positions, while fabricated metal product manufacturing also added 6,000.
Health care employment continued to trend upward, increasing by 13,000 jobs. Home health care services added 11,000 positions, while hospitals gained 8,000.
Information Sector Loses 23,000 Jobs
The information industry moved in the opposite direction, shedding 23,000 jobs in August.
Losses included 8,000 positions in computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting and related services; 7,000 in publishing industries; and 5,000 in broadcasting and content providers.
Other major industries, including mining, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities and professional and business services, showed little change during the month.
July Job Loss Revised Into a Gain
Revisions to previous months also improved the recent picture of the U.S. labor market.
June payroll growth was revised from 20,000 to 31,000, while July underwent a particularly significant revision, changing from a previously reported loss of 23,000 jobs to a gain of 21,000.
Combined, employment in June and July was 55,000 higher than previously reported.
Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% in August to $37.75, bringing the year-over-year increase to 3.1%. The average private-sector workweek edged up to 34.4 hours.
The August report provides a stronger reading of U.S. employment growth following several months of subdued hiring, with gains concentrated in restaurants and local government education while the information sector continued to lose jobs.
