[Video Script]
Hi, I’m Robert Burns with this month’s BLS employment situation rundown for August 2023, brought to you by Search Solution Group, The Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, provides regular reports on employment data and other economic indicators that employers use everywhere to make informed decisions.
Here’s what’s happening with the jobs market.
- This month, the unemployment rate increased to 3.8%. The highest it’s been since February 2022.
- Non-Farm payrolls grew by 187,000, beating the Dow Jones estimate of 170,000, the labor force participation rate increased to 62.8%. The highest it’s been since February 2020.
- For August, there were some downward revisions in the previous month’s numbers for non-farm payrolls, namely July was revised down by 30,000 to 157,000 in June down by 80,000 to 105,000.
- A more encompassing unemployment measure that counts discouraged workers, as well as those working part-time for economic reasons, rose to 7.1%, the highest that’s been since May 2022.
- Looking next at earnings and inflation, average hourly earnings increased point 2% for the month and 4.3% year over year, both below forecasts.
- Inflation wise there are signs of easing pressure, the Feds preferred gauge showed only a point 2% increase in July.
- Looking at economic growth and forecasts, GDP growth for q2 grew to a 2.1% annualized rate below the initial 2.4% estimate.
- Atlanta Fed tracking had third-quarter GDP growth had a robust 5.6%. As far as consumer behavior outlook, spending remains strong with credit cards and savings used to compensate for falling real disposable income.
- Now looking at sector-specific job data, the biggest gainer for the month was healthcare, which added 71,000 jobs for August. Other leaders included leisure and hospitality, adding 40,000 jobs; social assistance, adding 26,000 jobs and construction, adding 22,000 jobs and some sectors showed a decline seen in transportation and warehousing with 34,000 jobs lost and the information sector with 15,000 jobs lost.
Overall job openings fell to 8.8 3 million in July, the lowest since March 2021. When it comes to the closely watched jobs count, August is often one of the most volatile months in the year and can be subject to sharp revisions later. As far as the overall economic outlook. The economy is showing mixed signals. We’re seeing stable overall growth, but the labor market is beginning to loosen, and inflation is showing signs of cooling. The labor market is slowing down but from a high peak, said a leading economist from Indeed Hiring Lab. Another economist said this report aligns with fed expectations and doesn’t change the narrative. And that’s the August job report rundown. Thank you for joining me for this month’s jobs report rundown. To take a deeper dive into this month’s report, click the article link below. Thank you and have a great day
