As the job market moved into the second half of the year, there have been several changes. Learn more about employment expectations based on data from our latest employment summary. Staff Solve strives to assist employers and job seekers not only with job market information and in the hiring process but also with the overall economic picture of employment trends in the United States and the possible factors involved.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in construction and health care.

The unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent and the number of unemployed people remained at 7.1 million in August. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.8 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 6.3 million.

In August, the labor force participation rate at 62.7 percent was unchanged and the employment-population ratio, at 60 percent also did not change. The number of people employed part-time for economic reasons was little changed at 4.8 million in August. This measure is up from 4.2 million a year earlier. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.

The number of persons in the labor force who currently want a job was 5.6 million in August, changing little. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally attached to the labor force remained steady at 1.4 million in August. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, changed little at 367,000.

Construction employment rose by 34,000 in August, higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, heavy and civil engineering construction added 14,000 jobs, and employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors continued to trend up (+14,000).

Employment in manufacturing edged down in August (-24,000), reflecting a decline of 25,000 in durable goods industries. Manufacturing employment has shown little net change over the year.

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government.

In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 14 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $35.21. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8 percent. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 11 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $30.27. The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours in August. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.7 hours.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised down by 61,000, from +179,000 to +118,000, and the change for July was revised down by 25,000, from +114,000 to +89,000. With these revisions, employment in June and July combined is 86,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)

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