US Adds 315,000 Total Jobs in August While the Number of Temp Jobs Rises by 11,600

Total employment in the US rose by 315,000 jobs in August from July, a smaller gain than the 526,000 jobs added in July (as revised), the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Temp jobs, meanwhile, rose by 11,600 in August — a bigger increase than the 8,500 added in July.

Year over year, the number of temp jobs in August was up 10.4%.

August’s temp penetration rate — temporary help jobs as a percentage of total employment — was 2.07%, unchanged from July.

“This jobs report is very encouraging on several levels for the US economy and staffing industry,” said Timothy Landhuis, VP of research at SIA. “Job gains were very healthy across all sectors of the economy, the labor force participation rate rose as more individuals chose to re-enter the workforce, and growth in pay rates decelerated, allowing the Federal Reserve to use a lighter touch on continued interest rate hikes.”

Overall, the US had more than 152.7 million jobs in August, 240,000 more than its pre-pandemic level in February 2020.

The BLS noted jobs in “computer systems design and related services” rose by 14,000 month over month in August, while jobs in “management and technical consulting services” increased by 13,000.

Healthcare employment rose by 48,000 in August; it is below its February 2020 level by 37,000.

The unemployment rate edged upward to 3.7% in August from 3.5% in July. However, the college-level unemployment rate edged downward to 1.9% in August from 2.0% in the previous month.

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 10 cents to $32.36.

The labor force participation rate increased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 62.4% but remains 1.0 percentage point below its February 2020 level.

“The increase in labor force participation is a positive sign for the labor market, but we still have a long way to go to return to the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020 and the March 2001 high,” Monster Economist Giacomo Santangelo said. “Looking at the labor market, we need to remember we’re reaching the end of baby boomers’ participation in the labor market, which will result in a surge of employment opportunities for millennials and Gen Z. ”

Santangelo said the Federal Reserve is going to aggressively raise interest rates, which will have an adverse effect on labor.

“As the Fed continues to tighten the money supply, we expect to see unemployment increase,” he said. “The Fed’s target inflation rate is approximately 2%, which we are nowhere near. In order to get there, the Fed can’t drive unemployment up too much, too quickly. This month’s unemployment increase of 0.2% may signal that the Fed has room to be more aggressive in their monetary tightening. However, we’re still in a ‘wait and see’ stage. Inflation is still an issue, and what the Fed does next will determine how we end the year.”

A detailed report on today’s jobs numbers has been released by Staffing Industry Analysts.

Original Article: (https://www2.staffingindustry.com/Editorial/Daily-News/US-adds-315-000-total-jobs-in-August-while-the-number-of-temp-jobs-rises-by-11-600-62873)