Employment by Industry: August Report Card a Real Let Down

The U.S. labor market saw its worst monthly performance since January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) August report. The latest data showed 235,000 new workers were added to payrolls in August, less than a quarter of the 1.053 million positions added in July.

August’s employment report was a huge disappointment, nearly two-thirds lower than initial economic estimates, and especially alarming given the nearly 3 million new jobs added from May through July. It wasn’t all bad news for the labor market, however, as the unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% from 5.4%, in line with estimates and the lowest since the pandemic began.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

David Schollaert

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