Report: Employers added slightly more jobs in August

U.S. employers added 142,000 jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday — a slight improvement from the same report from the previous month. In July, American employers added only 114,000 workers — less than half the number reported for May. The statistics had improved for months before plummeting in June. Friday’s report could reflect fluctuations in the jobs market ahead of long-anticipated interest rate cuts, which the Federal Reserve openly discussed on Aug. 23.

What about unemployment? The U.S. unemployment rate dipped a tenth of a point, hitting 4.2 percent in August. It has remained somewhat steady from month to month. The unemployment rate increased incrementally from April to July, the bureau reported.

Wasn’t there a jobs report just yesterday? The Bureau of Labor Statistics separately reported Thursday that business owners in July were advertising fewer job openings than the month before. As of the last day of July, there were 7.7 million job openings in the United States, the bureau said. Meanwhile, more workers were leaving their jobs either through quits, layoffs, or discharges, the bureau said.

Dig deeper: Read David L. Bahnsen’s column in WORLD Opinions about what caused inflation in 2022.