US adds jobs in August, beating economic forecasts

The United States economy has added ۱۶۲,۰۰۰ jobs in August, with large gains in local government education and food services.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged, according to the monthly jobs report released by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday.

The data was well above analysts’ expectations. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast ۵۶,۰۰۰ gains, the Wall Street Journal forecast ۵۳,۰۰۰, and Bloomberg had forecast ۵۵,۰۰۰, following a loss of ۲۳,۰۰۰ in July.

Local government education, or public schools, accounted for nearly ۴۲,۰۰۰ of the jobs added as the ۲۰۲۶–۲۷ school year begins across much of the US. Teachers typically fall off payrolls during the summer months when school is not in session.

Food service jobs also saw large increases, with the sector adding ۵۹,۰۰۰ jobs for the month of August compared with the month prior.

There were also gains in construction, which added ۲۲,۰۰۰ jobs, and healthcare, which added ۱۲,۰۰۰.

The information sector, which accounts for industries like data processing, web hosting, publishing, broadcasting and telecommunications, fell by ۲۳,۰۰۰, with notable layoffs at companies including Scripps TV and Zillow, which fall under the umbrella of these industries.

The financial activities sector, which accounts for industries like insurance, commercial banking and real estate, dropped by ۱۲,۰۰۰.

Mixed data

The data comes in sharp contrast to the ADP national employment report, which tracks private payrolls and found ۳۸,۰۰۰ jobs added across the US economy.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report released on Tuesday revealed job openings were slightly changed, with ۷.۳ million in July, up from ۷.۲ million the previous month, while total separations fell to ۵.۱ million in July from ۵.۳ million in June.

The move in job gains comes ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later this month, where the central bank will vote on interest rates. Amid the job gains, CME Group’s FedWatch, which tracks the likelihood of monetary policy decisions, had a ۶۰ percent chance of a ۲۵ basis point rate increase to ۳.۷۵–۴.۰۰ percent, up from ۴۹ percent on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump was quick to comment on the jobs report and push for rate cuts.

“Lower the interest rates because the U.S.A. is a much stronger credit than it was a short time ago!” he said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

He also ramped up threats to cut off trade with nations that the US has a deficit with if the central bank does not cut rates.

Despite a strong jobs report, US markets are trending downwards. The Nasdaq is down ۰.۲ percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down ۰.۵ percent, and the S&P ۵۰۰ is down ۰.۳ percent amid Trump’s comments.

Meanwhile, Canada released its jobs report amid the ongoing trade dispute with the US. The Canadian economy lost ۴۱,۷۰۰ jobs, according to Statistics Canada, with the unemployment rate holding steady at ۶.۴ percent.

“We expect the economy will continue struggling to create jobs in the near term as mounting headwinds from new US-Canada tariffs, greater uncertainty from a flare-up in the trade war, and the ongoing Iran conflict and a shrinking population weigh on hiring,” Tony Stillo, director of Canada Economics at Oxford Economics, said in a note provided to Al Jazeera.