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

Executive Summary

Job Growth

In August, the U.S. economy added 142,000 jobs. The two industries showing the most sizable job gains were construction and healthcare —both of which have consistently experienced increases in job growth over the past several months.

Unemployment and Labor Force Participation

The unemployment rate decreased from 4.3% in August to 4.2% in August. The labor force participation rate continued to reflect little change at 62.7%, still hovering between the 62.5% and 62.8% where it’s been for the last 12 months.

Unemployment rates, specific to the industries Aston Carter supports, were as follows for August: finance and insurance (2.9%), professional and business services (4%), manufacturing (3.4%), construction (3.5%), hospitals (2%) and utilities (1.8%).

Among skilled labor categories Aston Carter sources talent for, unemployment in business and financial (3.1%) and office and administrative (3.4%).

Inflation

The consumer price index, a measure of inflation, increased by 2.5% for the 12 months ending August. With the Federal Reserve’s target of reaching 2%, inflation has made significant progress toward it. The softening of both inflation and the labor market likely were contributing factors that led to the Fed lowering interest rates by 50 basis points in September.

Wage Growth

Average hourly earnings increased by 3.8% for the 12 months ending August, which was only slightly above the 3.6% year-over-year increase observed in July. “Real” inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings increased by 1.3% between August 2023 and August 2024, though due to the effects of inflation, workers may still only feel as if they’re making about 1.3% more, on average.