The U.S. economy added 142K jobs in August 2024, below the anticipated 160K. Gains were seen in construction (34K), health care (31K), and government (24K), while manufacturing shed 24K jobs. Notably, since January 2023, only six months have experienced upward job revisions, compared to 13 months of downward revisions, many of which were revised twice. This trend is undermining market confidence in the reliability of labor market data.

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• Full-time workers: -438K
• Part-time workers: +527K

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Employment in other sectors remained steady. Job growth slowed compared to the 12-month average of 202K. Goldman Sachs announced layoffs, and Volkswagen reversed its no-layoff stance, hinting at possible plant closures in Germany. However, average hourly earnings for U.S. private nonfarm employees rose 0.4% to $35.21, surpassing forecasts. Nonsupervisory employees also saw a 0.4% wage increase. Year-over-year, wages grew by 3.8%, exceeding expectations. Experts such as the former Treasury Chief have noted that this jobs report makes the bet on whether the Federal Reserve cuts 25bp or 50bp a bit more complicated.

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Likewise, the number of open jobs continues to fall and is now back to levels last seen in 2019 (shown in graph above). As open jobs fall, competition for jobs becomes more fierce, leading to lower wage growth which cools inflation.