Employers added 22K jobs in August, including 700 in accounting

The economy showed further signs of a slowdown as employers added only 22,000 jobs in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, as the unemployment rate edged up one-tenth of a point to 4.3%.

The professional and business services sector lost 17,000 jobs last month, although 700 jobs were added in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services. Most of the job gains were in the health care sector, which added 30,600 jobs, and social assistance, which added 16,200 jobs. But those gains were partly offset by job losses in the federal government, as well as mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. Federal government employment declined by 15,000 as the Trump administration continues its job cuts, and is down by 97,000 since reaching a peak in January. 

The Internal Revenue Service, however, has recently backtracked on its layoff plans after shedding about one-fourth of its workforce earlier this year and has even begun rehiring employees amid worries about the impact on operations and next tax season.

Average hourly earnings rose 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $36.53 in August. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased 3.7%. 

The BLS continued to revise its previous job numbers, although the extensive downgrades for May and June that were announced last month led to the firing of the BLS commissioner. On Friday, the BLS revised down the job numbers for June by 27,000, from a gain of 14,000 to a loss of 13,000 jobs, while the number for July was revised up by 6,000, from a gain of 73,000 to 79,000. With both revisions, employment in June and July combined was 21,000 lower than previously reported.

The Federal Reserve, which has come under pressure from the Trump administration to cut interest rates, is likely to do so after the latest jobs report. “The overall picture is clear: the labor market is buckling under the pressure of immigration and trade policy in conjunction with elevated interest rates, resulting in significantly weaker hiring demand,” said Appcast economist Sam Kuhn in an email. “The Federal Reserve will certainly reduce interest rates in the September meeting, with another cut in October seeming increasingly likely.”