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August US Employment: Help Not Wanted
From wellsfargo.bluematrix.com
The August employment report was underwhelming and capped a summer of labor market doldrums. Nonfarm payrolls grew by just 22K in August, and some modest downward revisions to job growth in July and June pushed the three-month moving average on payroll growth down to a measly 29K. The hiring that did occur was very narrowly concentrated. The health care, social assistance, leisure and hospitality sectors added 75K jobs in August. Excluding these sectors, employment fell by 53K last month. In the household survey, the unemployment ticked up a tenth to 4.3%, the highest reading since October 2021. Today's data, in ... (full story)