Today the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported job creation was weak and the unemployment rate remains high. The number of jobs created was well below the 150,000 estimated new jobs needed to keep up with population growth. Currently the unemployment rate in the US is 8.1% and only 96,000 new
non-farm jobs were created by the economy in August according to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yesterday ADP, a private company, estimated
private sector employment grew by 201,000. Below is a summary of the official data
from both releases.
August BLS Employment Situation Report
Friday September 7, 2012: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose
by 96,000 in August, and the unemployment rate edged down to 8.1
percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment
increased in food services and drinking places, in professional and
technical services, and in health care.
Household Survey Data
The unemployment rate edged down in August to 8.1 percent. Since
the beginning of this year, the rate has held in a narrow range of 8.1
to 8.3 percent. The number of unemployed persons, at 12.5 million, was
little changed in August. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.6
percent), adult women (7.3 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent), whites
(7.2 percent), blacks (14.1 percent), and Hispanics (10.2 percent)
showed little or no change in August. The jobless rate for Asians was
5.9 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from a year
earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
In August, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27
weeks or more) was little changed at 5.0 million. These individuals
accounted for 40.0 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)
Both the civilian labor force (154.6 million) and the labor force
participation rate (63.5 percent) declined in August. The
employment-population ratio, at 58.3 percent, was little changed. (See
table A-1.)
In August, 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor
force, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (These data are not
seasonally adjusted.)
These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available
for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months.
They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for
work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)
Among the marginally attached, there were 844,000 discouraged workers in
August, a decline of 133,000 from a year earlier. (These data are not
seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently
looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them.
The remaining 1.7 million persons marginally attached to the labor force
in August had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey
for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See
table A-16.)
Thursday ADP Report (pdf)
September 6, 2012 – Private-sector employment increased by
201,000 from July to August on a seasonally adjusted basis, according
to the latest ADP National Employment Report® released today. The ADP
National Employment Report, created by Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
(ADP®), in partnership with Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, is derived
from actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm
private employment each month. The estimated gain from June to July was
revised up from the initial estimate of 163,000 to 173,000.
U.S. Nonfarm Private Employment Highlights – August 2012 Report:
- Total employment: +201,000
- Small businesses:* +99,000
- Medium businesses:** +86,000
- Large businesses:*** +16,000
- Goods-producing sector: +16,000
- Service-providing sector: +185,000
Addendum:
- Manufacturing industry: + 3,000
* Small businesses represent payrolls with 1-49 employees
** Medium businesses represent payrolls with 50-499 employees
*** Large businesses represent payrolls with more than 499 employees
Note: All data included in the ADP National Employment Report is based on size
According to today’s ADP National Employment Report, employment in the
nonfarm private business sector rose 201,000 from July to August on a
seasonally adjusted basis. Employment in the private, service-providing
sector expanded 185,000 in August, up from 156,000 in July. Employment
in the private, goods-producing sector added 16,000 jobs in August,
while manufacturing employment rose 3,000, following an increase of
6,000 in July. Construction employment rose for the third consecutive
month, adding 10,000 jobs, marking the best reading since March. The
financial services sector added 8,000 jobs from July to August, marking
the thirteenth consecutive monthly gain.
Carlos A. Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP, said:
“According to this month’s ADP National Employment Report, the U.S.
economy added 201,000 jobs in August, the largest increase in five
months. The improvement in job creation this month is encouraging and we
hope it continues across all sectors of the U.S. economy.”
