Automakers, schools boost job market in August
Automakers, schools give job market a lift in August; retailer and restaurants also add jobs
Auto factories and schools hired more workers in August, encouraging signs in an otherwise lukewarm month of U.S. hiring.
American manufacturers created 14,000 jobs last month. That marks the first positive month of hiring after five months of slashing jobs.
The bulk of the new manufacturing jobs came from car and truck companies, which are seeing their best sales pace since before the Great Recession. In August, automakers created nearly 19,000 jobs.
Still, factories overall are doing little to help the job market. They have added just 20,000 jobs in the past 12 months.
August was also the best month of hiring in a year for governments, which added a combined 17,000 workers. Local governments added 20,000 jobs in education, most of which were likely teachers. State governments cut 3,000 jobs, while federal job growth was flat.
Like previous months, many of the jobs added in August were in lower-paying industries. Retailer added 44,000 jobs. Bars and restaurants created 21,200 positions.
And despite continued gains in housing, construction firms added zero net jobs last month and just 15,000 in the past six months. That compares with 153,000 jobs in the previous six months.
Here's a look at the jobs added or lost in each major industry category:
Industry | August | July | Past 12 months |
Construction | 0 | -3,000 | 168,000 |
Manufacturing | 14,000 | -16,000 | 20,000 |
Retail | 44,000 | 48,800 | 392,500 |
Transportation, warehousing | 12,000 | -13,900 | 42,700 |
Information (Telecom, publishing) | -18,000 | 13,000 | 1,000 |
Financial services | -5,000 | 17,000 | 108,000 |
Professional services (Accounting, temp work) | 23,000 | 32,000 | 614,000 |
Education and health | 43,000 | 26,000 | 375,000 |
Hotels, restaurants, entertainment | 27,000 | 13,000 | 424,000 |
Government | 17,000 | -23,000 | -94,000 |
Source: Labor Department |
