Health Care Continues To Add Jobs

The American unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent in August, the highest since June 1983, as employers lost a net total of 216,000 jobs.

Construction employment declined by 65,000, in line with the trend since May. Monthly losses had averaged 117,000 over the 6 months ending in April. Employment in the construction industry has contracted by 1.4 million since the onset of the recession. Starting in early 2009, the larger share of monthly job losses shifted from the residential to the non-residential and heavy construction components.

In mining, employment declined by 9,000 over the month.

Manufacturing employment continued to trend downward, with a decline of 63,000. The pace of job loss has slowed throughout manufacturing in recent months. Motor vehicles and parts lost 15,000 jobs in August, partly offsetting a 31,000 employment increase in July.

Financial activities shed 28,000 jobs, with declines spread throughout the industry. Job loss in financial activities has slowed since the beginning of the year. Employment in the industry has declined by 537,000 since the start of the recession.

Wholesale trade employment fell by 17,000 in August. Employment in information continued to trend down over the month.

Employment in the retail trade industry was little changed. Employment also was little changed in professional and business services over the month. From May through August, monthly employment declines in the sector averaged 46,000, compared with 138,000 per month from November through April. Job loss in its temporary help services component has slowed markedly over the last 4 months.

Employment was also little changed in both in transportation & warehousing and in leisure & hospitality.

Employment in health care continued to rise in August (28,000), with gains in ambulatory care and in nursing and residential care. Employment in hospitals was little changed in August; job growth in the industry slowed in early 2009 and employment has been flat since May. Health care has added 544,000 jobs since the start of the recession.

Average weekly earnings in August rose by only 0.8 percent to $624.29 (£380.89) due to reductions in the average working week.

August 2009 weekly earnings by industry sector

Industry	Average Weekly Earnings $ (£)	12 Month % change
Natural resources and mining	1019 (854)	-3.1
Construction	885 (540)	1.1
Manufacturing/Durable Goods	777 (474)	0.3
Manufacturing/Nondurable Goods	661 (403)	1.1
Wholesale trade	800 (488)	3.2
Retail trade	396 (242)	1.0
Transportation and warehousing	692 (422)	1.8
Utilities	1238 (755)	2.7
Information	939 (573)	2.3
Financial activities	762 (465)	8.4
Professional and business services	793 (484)	7.8
Education and health services	631 (385)	2.2
Leisure and hospitality	283 (173)	1.6
Other services	502 (306)	0.3

exchange rate used £1.00 = $1.639