September 02, 2011
September 2, 2011
Even correcting for peculiarities like the Verizon strike, there can be little doubt that the picture in the August job data is bleak. Health care, which added 29,700 in August, is the only sector adding jobs at a respectable pace. Restaurants added 9,300 jobs last month and an average of just 2,300 jobs over the last four months. The temp sector added 4,700 jobs in August. Temp employment is still 7,500 below the March level. And average weekly hours edged down by 0.1 percent. The government sector lost 17,000 jobs in August, bringing its average rate of job loss to 37,700 over the last three months. One item worth noting, however, is the continuing decline in the unemployment rate for workers in the construction and manufacturing industries.
For more, check out our latest Jobs Byte.
