WJS: Hiring Stalled in August, With 22,000 New Jobs; Unemployment up to 4.3%

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U.S. job growth continued to slow down in August, a sign that the labor market is deteriorating markedly.

The government also revised its numbers from earlier in the summer, and said that the economy lost a net 13,000 jobs in June. It was the first such decline since December 2020.

The U.S. added 22,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department reported Friday, below the gain of 75,000 jobs economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see.

The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs figures, was 4.3%, up slightly from 4.2% in July.

Private-sector employment grew by 38,000 jobs, driven by a gain of 46,800 jobs in healthcare and social assistance. Federal government employment declined 15,000 jobs in August.

July’s figures were revised up by 6,000 to a gain of 79,000 for the month. June’s figures were revised from a gain of 14,000 to the 13,000 loss. The month-ago report included huge negative revisions to the May and June numbers.

This is the first jobs report since President Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ leader, after she delivered unexpectedly weak news about spring employment.

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Consumer sentiment dropped nearly 6% in August, after trending up in June and July, according to a closely watched index from the University of Michigan. And workers are feeling more pessimistic about the job market, and more people are expecting their income to decline, according to a survey by the Conference Board.

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