The Unemployment Rate increased to 9.6% in August, matching expectations, after remaining unchanged at 9.5% in July. The number of unemployed persons also increased to 14.9 million after remaining unchanged at 14.6 million in July. Nonfarm Payrolls, which were expected to decrease by 95,000, decreased by 54,000 in August, after decreasing by 54,000 in July. Private sector employment edged up by 67,000, lower than the 107,000 jobs added in June, revised upwards from an originally reported 71,000.Healthcare, mining, and construction added jobs, while wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and leisure and hospitality showed little change. Employment in retail trade was about unchanged over the month. Manufacturing employment declined by 27,000 over the month. Government employment fell by 121,000 in July, largely reflecting the loss of 114,000 temporary workers hired for Census 2010.The Average Workweek remained unchanged at 34.2 hours. Average Hourly Earnings increased by 6 cents or 0.3% to $22.66.
The ISM Services Index is scheduled for release today at 10:00 AM EST, and is expected to decrease to 53.2 in August after increasing to 54.3 in July and decreasing to 53.8 in June. The index’s complement, the ISM Manufacturing Index increased to 56.3 on Wednesday’s release after decreasing to 55.5 in July.
Upcoming Releases
ISM Services Index (09/03 at 10:00 AM EST)
Fed’s Beige Book (09/08 at 2:00 PM EST)
Consumer Credit (09/08 at 3:00 PM EST)
Initial Claims (09/09 at 8:30 AM EST)
