According to the US Labor Department’s latest report,
the job economy is starting to get weaker. Hiring fell to 114,000
jobs in July, with the unemployment rate increasing to 4.3 percent, the
highest since October 2021. Hourly wages are up 3.6 percent year-overyear,
the smallest increase since May 2021. The average hourly earnings
for all employees, including salaried employees, on private nonfarm
payrolls increased by 8 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $35.07 per hour.
At the same time, the average workweek for all employees on private
non-farm payrolls decreased by a tenth of an hour to 34.2 hours in July.
The workweek for manufacturing jobs averaged 39.9 hours.