Cyclical Employment Growth Falls Further In August
Cyclical Employment Growth Falls Further In August
The employment situation report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics "BLS" showed the US economy added 235,000 jobs in August, far below the expected gain of 740,000.
Job creation in July was revised higher to 1.053 million from 943,000.
Total employment growth cooled to 4.7% in August when measured on a smoothed six-month annualized basis. This growth rate is down from 5.2% in July and 5.6% in April.
Total Employment: Growth Rate
Source: BLS, EPB Macro Research
As the housing market has started to cool, construction employment growth has declined materially, falling from 5.6% in March and April to just 1.1% in August.
Construction Employment: Growth Rate
Source: BLS, EPB Macro Research
Employment as an indicator of the economy leans towards a "lagging" metric. The timeliness of employment as an indicator can be slightly improved by focusing on cyclical areas of employment.
Charted below is the growth rate of two baskets of cyclical employment. The left side chart shows private payrolls excluding education and health services, two non-cyclical sectors, and the right side chart shows the growth rate of manufacturing and construction payrolls.
Cyclical employment growth is declining, down materially from the peak in March and April.
"Cyclical" Employment: Growth Rate
Source: BLS, EPB Macro Research
The March/April peak in growth is visible across all four major coincident indicators.
The slowdown in economic activity is broad-based, meaning it has reached all corners of the economy, from production to employment to consumption and income.
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