August U.S. Jobs Report: 187,000 Rise in Payrolls, Unemployment Rate Jumps

The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in August, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and in line with FactSet’s consensus expectation of 170,000.

The government’s report revised down previous estimates for new job creation in July and June.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in August from 3.5% in July, a surprise compared to the 3.5% consensus expectation from FactSet.

August Jobs Report Key Stats

• Total nonfarm payrolls climbed by 187,000 versus a revised 157,000 in July.
• The unemployment rate climbed to 3.8% from 3.5% in July.
• Average hourly wages rose by 0.2% to $33.82 after rising 0.4% in July.

In August, average hourly wages grew by 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $33.82. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.3%.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased to 34.4 hours in August, up from 34.3 in July. For manufacturing employees, the average workweek rose to 40.1 hours in August, and overtime grew to 3.1 hours. For production and nonsupervisory employees, the average workweek was reduced to 33.9 hours from 34.1 the prior month.