Latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for August disappoints again with only 142,000 new positions. (Falling only inside the 130-150,000 range estimated increase needed on a monthly basis to stay-up with growing demographics). However the picture was more robust in the construction job markets, where the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate slide to 3.2 percent for August. [The new unemployment figure is down 0.7 basis points vs. July ‘24; and a similar 0.7 compared to last August’s level of 3.9%]. Construction employment rose by 34,000 in August, higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the prior 12 months. During the month, heavy and civil engineering construction added 14,000 jobs, and employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors continued to trend up by (+14,000).
The general unemployment level, slipped 0.1 basis points to 4.2 percent. (“Unemployed persons” dipped 0.1 to 7.1 million per the government count). Meanwhile, the “labor force participation rate” stayed at 62.7 percent. [NOTE: The “labor force participation” rate “typically” works inversely to the overall unemployment figures. Meaning: as it deteriorates/gets worse or smaller, it actually is counted as improving unemployment (i.e., people leaving the workforce are no longer counted as unemployed by the DOL). The “employment to population ratio” remained at 60.0 percent. [Both measures haven’t reached their pre-Covid levels yet; if people were actually seeking jobs, the unemployment rate would be approximately 5.0% ]. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% to $30.27 for private sector production and non-supervisory employees. SEE Workforce Statistics Chart.
