Research
What to Watch for in Friday’s August Jobs Report
Andrew Chamberlain
Andrew Chamberlain, Author at Glassdoor US | Sep 4, 2018
As summer draws to a close, we’re more than halfway through 2018 and the booming job market shows no sign of slowing. The economy added 215,000 new jobs per month on average so far this year, which is up slightly from the 182,000 jobs per month pace of last year.
On Friday, we’ll get the latest update on jobs and pay from the federal government. Here’s what we’ll be watching for in the August BLS jobs report:
Source: Glassdoor Economic Research (Glassdoor.com/research). Code and data available at https://github.com/glassdooreconomicresearch/jobs-day-arima-forecast.
With nearly 6.7 million open jobs today, hiring by U.S. employers remains strong. As of June, the BLS reports the ratio of unemployed workers to open jobs nationally hit 1:1. That’s down from a peak of 6.6 unemployed workers per job opening seen during the depths of the Great Recession and is another stark reminder of the intense competition for skilled talent many employers are struggling with today.
These conditions are good for workers’ wages. After years of slow wage growth, there’s growing evidence that paychecks are finally on the rise for a growing number of workers. The August edition of the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports found U.S. wage growth for full-time workers reached its fastest pace in 15 months. That’s consistent with other measures of wages: Last month’s BLS jobs report showed average hourly pay rose 2.7 percent from a year ago, up from the 2 to 2.5 percent pace of the past two years; similarly, the Atlanta Fed’s Wage Growth Tracker shows U.S. pay growth steadily rising, up 3.3 percent year-over-year as of July 2018.
Despite a rising pace of inflation, a looming trade war that threatens to slow U.S. exports and tightening monetary policy by Fed policymakers, hiring by employers today shows little sign of slowing as the economy enters its 110th month of economic expansion -- the second-longest period of steady economic growth on record since the 1850s. Taken together, all signs today point to an August jobs report that’s likely to bring more good news for American workers.
To speak with Dr. Andrew Chamberlain about this month’s jobs report or labor market trends, contact pr [at] glassdoor [dot] com. For the latest economics and labor market updates, subscribe to email alerts here and follow @adchamberlain.
- +163,000 new jobs added to nonfarm payrolls in August;
- Unemployment rate steady at 3.9 percent;
- Average hourly earnings up 2.9 percent from one year ago;
- Labor force participation rate down slightly to 62.8 percent.
Source: Glassdoor Economic Research (Glassdoor.com/research). Code and data available at https://github.com/glassdooreconomicresearch/jobs-day-arima-forecast.
With nearly 6.7 million open jobs today, hiring by U.S. employers remains strong. As of June, the BLS reports the ratio of unemployed workers to open jobs nationally hit 1:1. That’s down from a peak of 6.6 unemployed workers per job opening seen during the depths of the Great Recession and is another stark reminder of the intense competition for skilled talent many employers are struggling with today.
These conditions are good for workers’ wages. After years of slow wage growth, there’s growing evidence that paychecks are finally on the rise for a growing number of workers. The August edition of the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports found U.S. wage growth for full-time workers reached its fastest pace in 15 months. That’s consistent with other measures of wages: Last month’s BLS jobs report showed average hourly pay rose 2.7 percent from a year ago, up from the 2 to 2.5 percent pace of the past two years; similarly, the Atlanta Fed’s Wage Growth Tracker shows U.S. pay growth steadily rising, up 3.3 percent year-over-year as of July 2018.
Despite a rising pace of inflation, a looming trade war that threatens to slow U.S. exports and tightening monetary policy by Fed policymakers, hiring by employers today shows little sign of slowing as the economy enters its 110th month of economic expansion -- the second-longest period of steady economic growth on record since the 1850s. Taken together, all signs today point to an August jobs report that’s likely to bring more good news for American workers.
To speak with Dr. Andrew Chamberlain about this month’s jobs report or labor market trends, contact pr [at] glassdoor [dot] com. For the latest economics and labor market updates, subscribe to email alerts here and follow @adchamberlain. Andrew Chamberlain
Tags:Labor Market
