By Tom Burnett CFA
On September 1, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Employment Report for August. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose from 3.5% in July to 3.8%. The number of jobless workers seeking employment rose by 514,000 to 6.4 million. One year ago, the rate was 3.7% and the number of jobless workers was 6.0 million.
In August, the average hourly earnings for all employees rose by $0.08 to $33.82, up 4.3% from a year earlier.
The total employment figures for June and July were revised downward by 110,000.
The next Employment Report will be issued on October 6, 2023.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research