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A group of coworkers reviewing the August 2024 jobs report looking at July labor market trends.

Labor Market and Economy Report: A Look at Trends in July 2024

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Executive Summary

Job Growth

In July, the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs. Industries that included sizeable job gains included healthcare (+55,000), construction (+25,000) and transportation and warehousing (+14,000), while information lost jobs (-20,000).

Unemployment and Labor Force Participation

The unemployment rate increased from 4.1% in June to 4.3% in July, rising to the highest rate since October 2021 (4.5%). The labor force participation increased slightly from 62.6% in June to 62.7% in July.

Unemployment rates, specific to the industries Aston Carter supports, were as follows for July: finance and insurance (2.8%), professional and business services (3.9%), manufacturing (3.1%), and hospitals (1.8%).

Among skilled labor categories Aston Carter sources talent for, unemployment in business and financial was 2.7% and office and administrative was 3.2%.

Inflation

The year-over-year inflation rate was 2.9% between July 2023 and July 2024 and declined for the fourth consecutive month. The Consumer Price Index is slowly declining toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Wage Growth

Average hourly earnings increased 3.6% between July 2023 and July 2024. “Real" average hourly earnings (wages adjusted for inflation) increased by 0.7% from July 2023 to July 2024. In other words, average hourly earnings are keeping up with inflation, although consumers may still be feeling the pressure of higher prices.

Download the Labor Market Analysis
August 2024 jobs report a look at July labor market trends: 114K jobs gained and 4.3% unemployment rate.

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