Research
U.S. Jobs Engine Picks Up Steam in August
Andrew Chamberlain
Andrew Chamberlain, Author at Glassdoor US | Sep 7, 2018
The latest jobs numbers are out from the federal government. What do they mean for job seekers and employers? Here’s a quick take from Glassdoor’s Chief Economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain:
This morning’s jobs report revealed a U.S. economy gaining momentum this summer, with employers adding a robust 201,000 new jobs to payrolls in August and an unemployment rate steady at 3.9 percent, an 18-year low.
Today’s report marks the economy’s 95th consecutive month of job gains, extending the nation’s longest streak since the federal government began collecting job surveys in the 1930s. Broadly speaking, today’s job market remains the strongest in a generation of U.S. job seekers.
Wage growth was a bright spot in today’s report. Average hourly wages rose by 2.9 percent in August from a year ago, up from the 2.7 percent pace recorded last month and well above the sluggish 2.5 percent pace that’s been common in recent years. At Glassdoor, we’re seeing a similar uptick in the pace of wage growth as the labor market improves: In August the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports recorded the fastest pace of U.S. pay growth in 15 months -- a sign that today’s strong economy is finally translating into wage gains for more workers.
One downside in the August report is the continuing slide of the nation’s labor force participation rate, which ticked down by 0.2 percentage points to 62.7 percent. That’s likely due to sweeping demographic trends facing the economy, as a wave of baby boomers bow out of the job market for retirement. Because of this shift, the nation’s labor force shrank in August by -469,000 workers.
The sector adding the most jobs in August was professional and business services (+53,000 jobs). Other sectors with strong jobs gains this summer include health care (+40,700 jobs), construction (+23,000 jobs), wholesale trade (+22,400 jobs), transportation and warehousing (+20,200 jobs), and leisure and hospitality (+17,000 jobs). The sector with the weakest job market in August was information (which includes most traditional media jobs) (-6,000 jobs). Other sectors who lost jobs in August include retail trade (-5,900 jobs), motor vehicles and parts (-4,900 jobs), government (-3,000 jobs) and manufacturing overall (-3,000 jobs).
With more than 6.6 million open jobs in the U.S. today, demand for talent remains strong and shows few signs of slowing. As of August, the nation’s current economic expansion reached 110 months, marking more than 9 years since the end of the Great Recession -- the second longest U.S. expansion on record since the 1850s. Despite fears of a trade war, a rising U.S. dollar, rising Fed interest rates, and booming corporate debt, all signs today show a healthy and growing job market -- something we expect to continue throughout the rest of 2018.
To speak with Dr. Andrew Chamberlain about today’s jobs report or to discuss labor market trends, contact pr at Glassdoor dot com. For the latest economics and labor market updates, follow @adchamberlain on Twitter and subscribe to Glassdoor Economic Research.
Andrew Chamberlain
Tags:Labor Market
