The United States economy added 162,000 jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, a number that surprised almost everyone who follows these releases closely.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones and other outlets had penciled in a gain of roughly 53,000 to 56,000 jobs. Instead, the economy delivered more than triple that, marking the strongest monthly gain since March. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent, with the number of unemployed people little changed at 7.0 million. The report also came with encouraging revisions to prior months: June payrolls were revised up by 11,000 to a gain of 31,000, and July, which had initially been reported as a loss of 23,000 jobs, was revised all the way to a gain of 21,000. Taken together, those revisions erased what had briefly looked like a genuine summer slowdown in hiring.
Manufacturing was a standout, adding 16,000 jobs against an estimate of just 5,000, while employment grew in food services and drinking places and in local government education. The information industry was one of the few sectors to lose jobs. Wages continued to climb at a moderate pace: average hourly earnings for private-sector workers rose 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $37.75, putting wage growth at 3.1 percent over the past year. The average workweek ticked up slightly to 34.4 hours.
The report lands at a delicate moment for the broader economy, which economists have described as a low hire, low fire environment: companies are not doing much aggressive hiring, but they are also not laying people off in large numbers. August's surprise strength complicates the picture for the Federal Reserve, which had been leaning toward supporting a slowing labor market and now must weigh that against a report that looked considerably healthier than expected.
The next jobs report, covering September, is due out October 2 and will be watched closely for signs of whether August's strength was a one-month blip or the start of a new trend.
Was this a surprise?
Yes, the gain of 162,000 jobs came in far above the roughly 53,000 to 56,000 jobs that economists had forecast.
Did unemployment change?
No, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent.