September 07, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Employment up again in August

Total nonfarm employment rose by 169,000 in August 2005 to 134.0 million, seasonally adjusted. This followed a gain of 242,000 in July (as revised).

[Chart data—TXT]

In August, there were notable employment gains in construction, health care, and accommodations and food services. Manufacturing employment edged down.

Construction employment rose by 25,000 in August, largely among specialty trade contractors. 

Employment in health care increased by 26,000 in August. Ambulatory health care services (which includes doctors' offices and outpatient clinics) and hospitals added 16,000 and 10,000 jobs, respectively.

Food services employment continued to grow; this industry added 18,000 jobs in August and 280,000 over the year. Employment in accommodations edged up over the month.

Manufacturing employment decreased by 14,000 in August, and has declined by 110,000 over the year.

These data are from the BLS Current Employment Statistics program. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary. For more information, see "The Employment Situation: August 2005" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-1633.  

Note: Hurricane Katrina struck Florida and the Gulf Coast after the August survey reference period, and therefore did not affect August employment estimates.