Current Employment Statistics Highlights August 2019 · CES Highlights Release Date: September 6, 2019 and business services has increased by an average 34,000 per month, compared

August 2019

Release Date: September 6, 2019

Prepared by Analysts of the National Estimates Branch

Current Employment Statistics Survey U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

202-691-6555 Email CES

Contents

Summary

Mining & Logging

Construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale Trade

Retail Trade

Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities

Information

Financial Activities

Professional & Business Services

Private Education & Health Services

Leisure & Hospitality

Other Services

Government

Current Employment Statistics Highlights

Detailed Industry Employment Analysis

Current Employment Statistics

Highlights

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/forms/ces?/ces/home.htm

Current Employment Statistics Summary, August 2019

CES Highlights


and business services has increased by an

average 34,000 per month, compared to an

average of 47,000 per month in 2018.

+34,000 Government

Employment in federal government, except

U.S. Postal Service, rose by 27,000 over the

month. This gain resulted from the hiring of

25,000 temporary workers to prepare for the

2020 Census.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by

130,000 in August. Federal government,

health care and financial activities added jobs

over the month, while mining lost jobs. Year to

date, job growth has averaged 158,000 per

month, down from 223,000 per month in

2018.

The employment change for June revised

down from +193,000 to +178,000, and the

change for July also revised down from

+164,000 to +159,000. On net, employment

over June and July is 20,000 lower than

previously reported.

In August, average hourly earnings of all

private-sector employees increased by 11

cents, or 0.4 percent, after gains of 9 cents in

both June and July. Over the year, hourly

earnings have risen by 3.2 percent. Average

weekly hours increased by 0.1 hour to 34.4

hours.

+37,000 Professional and Business Services

Employment in professional and business

services continued to trend up in August

(+37,000). Within the industry, employment

rose by 10,000 each in computer systems

design and related services and in

management of companies and enterprises.

So far this year, employment in professional

90

232234

211

15

282

336

135

270

128

170

215

252

141

127

213

128

229

204

187

18

260

220

174171

330

182

196

270262

178

282

108

277

196

227

312

56

153

216

62

178

159

130

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Jan-16 Jul-16 Jan-17 Jul-17 Jan-18 Jul-18 Jan-19 Jul-19

Over-the-month change Annual average

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, September 06, 2019.Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Over-the-month change, January 2016–August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Employment in total nonfarm

Summary Mining & Logging

Construction Manufacturing

Trade:

Wholesale Retail

Transp.,

Warehousing & Utilities

Information Financial Activities

Professional

& Business Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


+32,000 Education and Health Services

Health care added 24,000 jobs in August.

Among health care providers, employment

continued to trend up in ambulatory care

services (+12,000) and in hospitals (+9,000).

Over the past 12 months, health care has

added 392,000 jobs.

Within social assistance, employment in

individual and family services rose by 17,000 in

August and by 113,000 over the year.

+15,000 Financial Activities

Within financial activities, insurance carriers

and related activities added 7,000 jobs in

August.

+3,000 Manufacturing

Manufacturing employment changed little in

August (+3,000). So far this year, employment

in the industry has changed by an average

+6,000 per month, compared to gains

averaging +22,000 per month in 2018.

-5,000 Mining and Logging

Mining employment declined by 6,000 in

August and has fallen by 12,000 over the past

3 months.

-11,000 Retail Trade

Employment in retail trade changed little in

August (-11,000). So far this year, employment

in the industry has fallen by 74,000.

34

-1

12

32

37

15

0

-1

-1

-11

3

3

14

-5

-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80

Government

Other services

Leisure and hospitality

Education and health services

Professional and business services

Financial activities*

Information

Utilities

Transportation and warehousing

Retail trade

Wholesale trade

Manufacturing

Construction

Mining and logging

Employment in total nonfarm

August 2019 Prior 12-month average

Over-the-month change, August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Total nonfarm:130*

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey, September 06, 2019.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance

Current Employment Statistics Summary, August 2019

Summary Mining &

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade:

Wholesale

Retail

Transp.,

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private Education

& Health

Services

Leisure &

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

Employment in mining declined by

6,000 in August. Over the past 3

months, mining employment has

declined by 12,000. Recent employment

declines in mining are reflected by

declining prices of West Texas

Intermediate crude oil and decreases in

the number of active domestic rotary

rigs.

-15

-21 -2

0

-12

-12 -1

0

-4 -4

-1

-3

4

0

3

5 5

9

5

4

3

6

2

1

4

0

7 7

9 9

58

0

84

6

-3

4

5

-2

1

1 1

-2

-5

-6

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15


Employment in miningOver-the-month change, January 2016–August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands


Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.

Mining and Logging


Construction Manufacturing Trade:

Wholesale

Retail

Transp., Warehousing

& Utilities


Professional & Business

Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/RWTCD.htm

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/RWTCD.htm

https://bakerhughesrigcount.gcs-web.com/rig-count-overview?c=79687&p=irol-rigcountsoverview

https://bakerhughesrigcount.gcs-web.com/rig-count-overview?c=79687&p=irol-rigcountsoverview

Construction employment changed little

in August (+14,000). Employment edged up

in residential building (+7,000) but changed

little elsewhere in construction.

Thus far in 2019, construction has added

an average 14,000 jobs per month,

compared to 26,000 per month in 2018.

The deceleration of trend is supported by

recent weakness in construction spending,

housing starts, and new homes sold.

-2

10

37

22

-8

10

32

1

34

27

22

8

32 33

14 1

7

8

27

2

30

16

22

34

33

33

73

2

29

37

17 19

34

17

25

5

16

56

-23

15

34

1

19

-2

14

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100


Employment in constructionOver-the-month change, January 2016–August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands



Construction



Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/release.pdf

https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst.pdf

https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf

Manufacturing employment changed little in August (+3,000). The

industry has added an average of 6,000 jobs per month so far in

2019, after adding an average 22,000 per month in 2018.

The 1-month diffusion index fell 2.6 points to 51.3 in August. A

value above 50 indicates more manufacturing industries are adding

jobs than are losing them.

Average weekly hours of all employees in manufacturing increased

by 0.2 hour to 40.6 hours in August, partially offsetting a 0.3-hour

decline in July. The average workweek of production employees

ticked up by 0.1 hour to 41.6 hours in August.

The weakness in August employment coincided with a contraction

in the Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers’ Index

and followed a weak reading in industrial production in July.

22

-15

-25

7

-18

20

17

-23

-3 -3

0

14 13

18

9 8

2

15

-3

42

8

20

30

28

16

31

20

22 2132

20

818

29

27

20

17

8

-3

3 2

10

4 3

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60


Employment in manufacturingOver-the-month change, January 2016–August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands



38.0

38.5

39.0

39.5

40.0

40.5

41.0

41.5

42.0

42.5

Jan-07 Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15 Jan-17 Jan-19

Average weekly hours, manufacturing


Shaded area represents recession as denoted by the National Bureau of Economic Research.


January 2007–August 2019

Seasonally adjusted

Production employeesLevel: 41.6Change: 0.1

All employeesLevel: 40.6Change: 0.2

Manufacturing

CES Highlights




Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

https://www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org/ismreport/mfgrob.cfm?SSO=1

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IPDMAN

Employment in wholesale trade changed little in August

(+3,000). Over the last year, the industry has added 76,000 jobs

with durable goods accounting for about three-quarters of

those gains.

5

-4

3

7

-3

-4

1

2

11

2

4

-2

5

4

-1

6

-5

6

1

-3

3

6

1

6

-2

3

8

-13

68

14

19

2

7

11 1

3

8

13

0

8

5

-1

7

3

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


Employment in wholesale tradeOver-the-month change, January 2016–August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands



Wholesale Trade

Summary Mining &

Logging Construction Manufacturing

Trade:

Wholesale

Retail

Transp.,

Warehousing

& Utilities

Information Financial

Activities

Professional

& Business

Services

Private

Education

& Health

Services

Leisure &

Hospitality

Other

Services Government

CES Highlights


In August, retail trade employment

continued to trend down (-11,000). So

far this year, industry employment has

declined by 74,000.

Employment declines occurred in

electronics and appliance stores

(-3,000) and general merchandise

stores (-15,000), while over the month,

employment in building material and

garden supply stores increased by

9,000.

Retail-related economic indicators

have been mixed. In July, Personal

Income increased, and Retail Sales

rose. Conversely, the Consumer Confidence Index declined in August.

Retail Trade



Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-income

https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-income

https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf

https://www.conference-board.org/us/

https://www.conference-board.org/us/

Employment in transportation and

warehousing was flat in August (-1,000).

Among the component industries, only

couriers and messengers added jobs

(+4,000).

Employment growth in the industry

has slowed in 2019. So far this year,

over-the-month employment gains have

averaged +7,000, compared to +18,000

in 2018. According to the Cass Freight

Index Report for July 2019, the volume

of shipments has decreased, on a year-

over-year basis, for 8 consecutive

months, coinciding with the

employment weakness in 2019.

1

4

-2

0

-5

1

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Warehousing and storage

Couriers and messengers*

Support activities for transportation

Transit and ground passenger transportation

Truck transportation

Air transportation

Employment in select transportation and warehousing industriesOver-the-month change, August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

August 2019 Prior 12-month average

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics survey September 6, 2019.

Data are preliminary.

* denotes significance

Transportationand warehousing:

-1

Transportation and Warehousing



Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://www.cassinfo.com/freight-audit-payment/cass-transportation-indexes/cass-freight-index

https://www.cassinfo.com/freight-audit-payment/cass-transportation-indexes/cass-freight-index

Employment in utilities edged down

from July to August (-1,000) but has

shown little net change thus far in 2019.

542

544

546

548

550

552

554

556

558

560

562

564

566

568

Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15 Jan-17 Jan-19

Employment in utilities

August 2019 Level: 553OTM Change: -1

Dec 2016 peak: 557 Jan 2014 trough: 549



Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.* denotes significance

January 2009–August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Utilities



Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


Information employment was flat in August, in line with the average

monthly change so far in 2019. The industry has not seen a significant

over-the-month change in employment since June 2016, following a strike.

Among the component industries, telecommunications lost 4,000 jobs

while employment in other information services continued to trend up

(+3,000). Other information services—which includes, but is not limited to,

news syndicates, libraries and archives, and internet publishing and

broadcasting and web search portals—has added 9,000 jobs over the past

3 months.

Information

CES Highlights




Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

https://www.bls.gov/ces/publications/strike-history.htm

Employment in financial activities

increased by 15,000 in August. Over the

most recent 12 months, the industry

added 111,000 jobs. Within the industry,

insurance carriers and related activities

added 7,000 jobs in August. This gain

was partially offset by a decline of 3,000

jobs in securities and commodities.

Employment in real estate and rental

and leasing edged up in August (+8,000).

Recent strength in real estate coincides

with declines in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate.

Financial Activities



Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.html

http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.html

Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in

August (+37,000). So far this year, the industry has added an average 34,000

jobs per month, compared to 47,000 per month in 2018. The majority of the

2019 employment gain has come from professional and technical services (72

percent), while administrative and waste services and management of

companies and enterprises made up the remainder.

Employment in professional and technical services trended up in August

(+15,000), below the prior 12-month average. Computer systems design and

related services (+10,000) continued to dominate job growth in the industry.

Year to date, professional and technical services has added an average 24,000

jobs per month, similar to growth in 2018.

Management of companies and enterprises added 10,000 jobs in August. In

2019, employment in the industry has increased by an annualized rate of 2.3

percent, compared to 2.6 percent in 2018.

Employment in administrative and waste services changed little in August

(+12,000). Within the industry, employment in temporary help services changed

little (+15,000). Temporary help employment has edged down by 3,000 per

month in 2019, compared to increases averaging 7,000 per month in 2018. The

American Staffing Association’s Staffing index increased in August (based on the

reference period including the 12th of the month) but was down over the year,

coinciding with the recent slowdown in temporary help services employment.

-12

17

2933

4

41

49

12

75

11

35

30

50

4

3330

51

37

46

36

13

41

3531

37

4442

62

51 51

37

58

5355

3437

5

54

19

55

21

43

36 37

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80


Over-the-month change Annual average

Over-the-month change, January 2016 ̶ August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Employment in professional and business services

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, September 06, 2019Most recent 2 months are preliminary.

Aug-19: 37Prior-12: 39

12

10

15

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Administrative and wasteservices

Management of companiesand enterprises*

Professional and technicalservices

Over-the-month change Prior-3 Prior-6 Prior-12

Employment in professional and business services component industriesOver-the-month change and prior averages, August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, September 06, 2019Most recent 2 months are preliminary.* denotes significance

CES Highlights




Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

Professional and Business Services

https://americanstaffing.net/staffing-research-data/asa-data-dashboard/asa-staffing-index/

Health care added 24,000 jobs in August. Employment in hospitals rose

by 9,000, in line with its prior-12 month average change. So far this year,

hospitals have added 58,000 jobs.

Within social assistance, employment in individual and family services

continued to trend up (+17,000) and has increased by 85,000 so far this

year.

4,400

4,600

4,800

5,000

5,200

5,400

Jan-09 Jan-11 Jan-13 Jan-15 Jan-17 Jan-19

Employment in hospitals

August 2019 Level: 5,253OTM Change: 9*

Apr 2013 peak: 4,801 Jan 2014 trough: 4,764



Most recent 2 months of data are preliminary.* denotes significance

January 2009–August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands

Private Education and Health Services

CES Highlights




Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

Employment in leisure and hospitality

changed little in August (+12,000), in line with

the prior 6-month average (+9,000). No

component industries added or lost a

significant number of jobs over the month.

Employment in food services and drinking

places changed little in August (+12,000) but

has increased by 242,000 over the past year,

along with rising food services sales.

Leisure and Hospitality



Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf

Employment in other services

changed little in August (-1,000), with all

component industries seeing little

change. So far in 2019, other services

employment has grown at an annualized

rate of 1.7 percent—roughly in line with

the industry’s growth rate over the prior

2 years.

-3

16

8

6

-7

13

4

13

16

-3

12

-14

16

11

5 5

11

10

5 5

-3

14

9

3

4 4

1

13

15

18

-12

6 7 7

1

11

9

4

19

16

-3

15

7

-1

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


Employment in other servicesOver-the-month change, January 2016–August 2019Seasonally adjusted, in thousands



Other Services



Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


Government employment rose by

34,000 in August. Within the federal

government (+28,000), job gains largely

resulted from hiring of temporary

workers (+25,000) to prepare for the 2020 Census for address canvassing.

Government



Wholesale

Retail


& Utilities



Services

Private

Education & Health

Services


Other Services

Government

CES Highlights


Prepared by Staff of the National Estimates Branch Current Employment Statistics Survey

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 202-691-6555

Email CES

CES Analysts

Osman Alhassan

Hyun Choi

Steve Crestol

Tyler Downing

Katelynn Harris

Mike McCall

John Mullins

Michael Osifalujo

Edward Park

Carson Wilson

Current Employment Statistics Highlights

Detailed Industry Employment Analysis

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/forms/ces?/ces/home.htm

Documents

Current Employment Statistics Highlights August 2019 · CES Highlights Release Date: September 6, 2019 and business services has increased by an average 34,000 per month, compared