Friday, September 5, 2014

The August Jobs Report

August broke the string of months in which the economy added at least 200,000 jobs at six, according to the report out this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We gained 142,000 jobs in August, which makes it the weakest month of the year so far, just behind January's 144,000.

Even with the relatively soft number of jobs, headline unemployment ticked down, from 6.2 percent to 6.1 percent. The 12-month average for job growth is still at 207,000, which is a very solid figure. This year has seen the fastest pace for hiring in over a decade.

The slowing growth number was attributed to softer employment conditions in auto making and retail. Vehicle manufacturers, which have been a steady source of jobs in the recovery, lost about 5,000 jobs in August, while food and beverage stores shed 17,000 jobs.

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