Rhode Island union workers protested against the Trump administration’s decision to halt an offshore wind farm project back in August. The latest employment report reveals the lowest job gains since August 2010.
In August, the U.S. added only 22,000 jobs, a stark contrast to the earlier report from June that saw revisions indicating a loss of 13,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report was made public on Friday morning.
This month’s employment increase marks the slowest pace since the aftermath of the Great Recession. The decline in June also represented the first setback in job growth since the surge in Covid-19 cases led to closures in the restaurant and hotel sectors in December 2020.
A recent analysis indicated that Virginia and New Jersey might be among the states hit hardest by the slowdown in job growth, as suggested by various surveys and layoff reports. Conversely, California and Texas seemed to be maintaining their employment numbers better.
Job postings also fell to the lowest level in ten months as of July, as noted in another government report released on September 3. This indicated that there were more unemployed individuals than job openings, a first since 2021.
The revision of prior employment figures was somewhat controversial, coinciding with President Trump’s remarks on August 1. This adjustment revealed that there were actually 258,000 fewer jobs in May and June than previously reported.
In reaction to these figures, Trump labeled them inaccurate and dismissed Erica Mantelfer, the director of Labor Statistics. He suggested Eji Antoni as her replacement, who proposed abandoning employment reports altogether. Trump even claimed in a social media post that the revised job numbers were intended to benefit Republicans.
According to Friday’s report, the hardest-hit sectors included Business and Professional Services, which lost 17,000 jobs; Government, down 16,000; Manufacturing, down 12,000; Wholesale, down 11,700; and Construction, which saw a drop of 7,000 jobs. However, Healthcare and Social Assistance gained 46,800 jobs, along with Hospitality, which added 28,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate for August climbed to 4.3%, up from 4.2% in July and 4.1% in June. For individuals without a high school diploma, the rate increased from 5.5% in July to 5.7% in August.
Black workers saw their unemployment rate rise to 7.5%, from 7.2%. Hispanic workers also experienced an increase from 5.0% to 5.3%. Meanwhile, the rates for Asian workers and white workers remained relatively stable at 3.6% and 3.7%, respectively.
Editor’s Note: This article has been revised to include additional details on changes in job counts and unemployment rates across different industries.
