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August jobs report reveals strong labor force participation
The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the August Jobs Report on Friday, which revealed that the unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.7 percent in August. NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long analyzed the report in a new NAFCU Macro Data Flash report.
“The August jobs report gave the FOMC exactly what they want,” said Long.
Total jobs advanced by 315, 000 in the month. In addition, results among every major private sector industry were mostly positive. Education and Health, as well as Business Services, led the way with 68,000 jobs each, followed by Retail Trade (+44,000), then Leisure and Hospitality (+31,000).
Labor force participation increased by 0.3 percentage points to 62 percent. Average hourly earnings grew by 10 cents in August, while year-over-year wage growth was at 5.2 percent.
“Job growth came down from the stratospheric heights of the prior month but remained plenty strong enough to ward off fears of a recession,” noted Long. “More important was the improvement in labor force participation, which had been scuffling in recent months.”
“That should relieve some of the tautness in the labor market and allay concerns about labor shortages feeding inflationary pressures,” concluded Long.
For more up-to-date economic updates from NAFCU's award-winning research team, view NAFCU's Macro Data Flash reports.