August Jobs Report: 130,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment Remains At 3.7 Percent

Mary Margaret Olohan on September 6, 2019

The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday.

130,000 jobs were added in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, about 30,000 fewer jobs than were added in July. Unemployment remained at 3.7 % — consistent with the last three months. The labor force participation rate slightly rose from 63% in July to 63.2% in August.

Economists predicted the unemployment rate would remain the same at 3.7%, according to the Wall Street Journal, and that employers would add 150,000 jobs.

Average hourly earnings rose by 11 cents to $28.11 for nonfarm payrolls, reflecting increases in average hourly earnings rising over the past 12 months by 3.2 percent. For private sector production and non supervisory employees, the average hourly earnings rose by 11 cents to $23.59.

“Amid the volatility of financial markets seeming to mirror the rest of the world, the U.S. job market has remained a veritable pillar of stability,” said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate.com’s senior economic analyst, to Yahoo Finance.

“In terms of relatively stability, the upcoming August employment reading should be no exception, with the emphasis on ‘should.’ The key question is whether the U.S. economy continues to grow in the face of these headwinds.”

Job growth has come back strong after February, when just 33,000 jobs were added.

The unemployment rate has held steady between 4% and 3.7% for more than a year before the April jobs report showed it drop to 3.6%. Prior to April’s report, the consistent unemployment rate suggested that workers are jumping back into the workforce to fill open jobs, rather than the workers who are currently collecting unemployment welfare, according to WSJ.