Job growth fell short of expectations in August, and the Biden-Harris Administration quietly revised previous job gains down by 85,000, adding to earlier cuts of over 800,000—a sign the labor market may be weaker than it appears.
Job growth in August was weaker than expected, and the Biden-Harris Administration quietly revised previous job creation claims for June and July down by 85,000—a further reduction following the downward revision of over 800,000 jobs just weeks ago. These cuts suggest the labor market may be significantly weaker than it initially appeared.
According to the Labor Department, the economy added 142,000 jobs in August, falling short of economists’ expectations of 160,000. However, future revisions could reduce that number even further.
July’s job growth was revised down from 114,000 to 89,000, while June's numbers were cut by 60,000 to 118,000.
Despite the disappointing job growth, the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent in July, while the labor force participation rate remained steady at 62.7 percent, consistent with the past year.
On a brighter note, average hourly earnings for private nonfarm employees rose by 14 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $35.21, bringing the year-over-year increase in wages to 3.8 percent—higher than expected.
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