US Adds 162,000 August Jobs as Blue-Collar Hiring Outpaces White-Collar
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Sep 4
US Adds 162,000 August Jobs as Blue-Collar Hiring Outpaces White-Collar
3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Sep 4
Summary
162,000 jobs were added in August—nearly triple the 55,000 expected—as hiring spread broadly across the economy while only two major industries, both white-collar, lost jobs.
Leisure and hospitality delivered about 40% of the gain after back-to-back declines, government rebounded on local education hiring, and construction kept rising amid housing demand and the data-center buildout.
28,400 jobs came from healthcare and social assistance, extending a long-running boost from elder-care demand and retiree replacement, while professional and business services still edged up 0.7% from a year earlier.
Information remained the weak spot: employment is about 12% below its late-2022 peak, with economists pointing to AI-driven task changes and slower hiring in tech and media.
Despite the stronger headline number, economists said the labor market still feels tight for job seekers because hiring rates resemble the early 2010s, churn is low, and workers are staying put.