Employment in the United States increased by 156,000 jobs in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent.
The total was a bit lower than the previous month’s employment growth, though the totals for June and July were revised downward, from 231,000 to 210,000 and from 209,000 to 189,000, respectively. The employment survey was conducted prior to Hurricane Harvey, so the impact of the storm is not reflected in these totals.
Job growth is currently growing faster than the labor force. The current tight labor market could get even tighter, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. He suggests the unemployment rate could be below 4.0 percent by this time next year.
Indicators generally seem to suggest a growing economy. Wages grew in August, though at a slower pace than in July. Average hourly earnings increased $0.03 in August to $26.39 for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, following an increase of $0.09 per hour in July. Private-sector production and nonsupervisory employee wages increased $0.04 per hour to $22.12.
By sector, the largest job gains were in manufacturing (up 36,000 in August) and construction (up 28,000). In addition, professional and technical services saw 22,000 new jobs, while the healthcare sector added 20,000 jobs.