Payroll employment increases in August 2012

In August, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 96,000. Since the beginning of this year, employment growth has averaged 139,000 per month, compared with an average monthly gain of 153,000 in 2011.

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Employment in food services and drinking places (part of leisure and hospitality) increased by 28,000 in August and by 298,000 over the past 12 months.

Health care (part of education and health services) employment rose by 17,000 in August. Ambulatory health care services and hospitals added 14,000 and 6,000 jobs, respectively. From June through August, job growth in health care averaged 15,000 per month, compared with an average monthly gain of 28,000 in the prior 12 months.

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Utilities employment increased in August (+9,000). The increase reflects the return of utility workers who were off payrolls in July because of a labor-management dispute.

Within financial activities, finance and insurance added 11,000 jobs in August. Employment in wholesale trade continued to trend up. Employment in temporary help services changed little over the month and has shown little movement, on net, since February.

Manufacturing employment edged down in August (−15,000). A decline in motor vehicles and parts (−8,000) partially offset a gain in July. Auto manufacturers laid off fewer workers for factory retooling than usual in July, and fewer workers than usual were recalled in August.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — August 2012," (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL-12-1796. More charts featuring CES employment data can be found in Current Employment Statistics Highlights: August 2012 (PDF).