Total nonfarm payroll increased by 142,000 in August and the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, signaling a continued flattening of the job market.
BLS also reported net negative revisions for June and July payroll employment numbers, coming in at 86,000 lower than previously stated.
“For the third month in a row, the labor market has underwhelmed expectations as businesses have rapidly scaled back their willingness to hire,” Sam Kuhn, Appcast’s labor economist, said in a statement. “While hiring activity has cooled, we’ve yet to see wide-scale layoffs as the unemployment rate did not change this month after steadily rising the past year.”
Construction led job gains alongside healthcare, though healthcare’s gains were the lowest the industry has seen since the beginning of 2022, Kuhn said. White collar jobs were nearly flat, Kuhn added.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book also reported this week that employment levels were largely flat or only up slightly in recent weeks, indicating that employers “were more selective with their hires and less likely to expand their workforces, citing concerns about demand and an uncertain economic outlook.”
However, the report also showed that employers remained reluctant to let workers go, indicating retention may be the name of the game.
“Today’s jobs report demonstrates that this summer’s Great Waiting Game has continued, with both employers and employees holding out for proof of improvement versus speculation of forecasts,” Becky Frankiewicz, president of ManpowerGroup North America, said in a statement. “Our real-time data showed an August pick-up in job postings following a slower July, but year-over-year stability. We’re not seeing that translate into the BLS just yet.”
One notable statistic: More workers were absent from work due to child care problems “than in any prior August on record,” Julia Pollak, chief economist for ZipRecruiter, said in a statement.
Child care is one benefit employers have been considering to improve retention; working moms reported child care difficulties at least three days per month, a BabyCenter report from October 2023 revealed.