Where are the jobs? These sectors saw the best, and worst, growth in August
Job growth faltered in August, with the U.S. economy adding a tepid 130,000 new positions, well below analysts’ expectations.
The number, which would have been even lower if not for the addition of 25,000 temporary census workers, added to fears the record-long economic expansion is coming to an end, a direct result of slowing global growth and trade war uncertainties.
“This is a mostly negative report with only some minor positive offsets,” said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust and a former Philadelphia Federal Reserve official.
Still, unemployment continues to hover near a 50-year low at 3.7 percent and some industries reported solid gains in employment.
Health care, for instance, added 24,000 new positions in August, and 392,000 over the past 12 months. Ambulatory health care services trended up, with 12,000 jobs added, as did hospitals, with 9,000 created.
Financial services also experienced an employment boon, adding 15,000 new jobs -- most of which were concentrated in insurance carriers. Over the year, the industry has added about 111,000 jobs.
As for the sectors struggling, retailers dominated along with mining, trucking and telecom.
