September 6, 2019

August 2019 Jobs Report

Unemployment Rate: 3.7%

Jobs Created: 130,000

Employment and Unemployment

  1. The Department of Labor reported the unemployment rate remained at 3.7% in August.

  2. Nonfarm jobs grew by 130,000 in August. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected 150,000 jobs.

  3. Combined job growth for June and July was lower than originally reported. Labor revised the job creation numbers down for June and July by a combined 20,000 jobs. 

  4. The U-6 unemployment rate, a measure that also includes part-time and discouraged workers, rose 0.2 percentage point to 7.2%.

Labor Force Participation

  1. The labor force participation rate, the share of people employed or looking for work, increased 0.2 percentage point to 63.2%.

Wages

  1. In August, average hourly earnings for all employees in private nonfarm jobs increased by 11 cents to $28.11. Wages are up 3.2% from a year ago.

Issue Tag: Labor