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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs grew by 1.4 million in the U.S. in August. NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long remarked on the “solid” report in a new NAFCU Macro Data Flash report.

"The August employment report was solid, with job gains meeting expectations, labor force participation growing, and the unemployment rate declining," said Long.

The unemployment rate declined by 1.8 percentage points to 8.4 in August and the labor force participation rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 61.7 percent this month.

"One glaring problem area was a big jump in workers suffering permanent job loss,” Long added. “That figure did not change in July, but increased by 530,000 in August. There are now 3.4 million such workers, which is halfway to the peak of the Great Recession.”

Results among the major industries showed significant gains in most sectors, led by services growth. Government led the way with 344,000 jobs added, followed by retail (+248,900), professional and business services (+197,000) and leisure and hospitality (+174,000).

Average hourly earnings rose 11 cents in August and year-over-year growth remained at 4.7 percent.

"Although overall labor force participation picked up in August, gains were exclusively among males, stoking fears that a lack of in-person schooling could be crimping female job market participation," Long concluded. "NAFCU expects job gains to continue in the coming months, albeit at a slowing pace."