Once again, leading the nation’s construction industry, the nonresidential building sector in July saw an increase of 172,300 new jobs over July of 2023.
The new numbers just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics additionally show a gain of 99,000 jobs in the nonresidential specialty trade sector, along with a gain of 67,600 jobs in the residential sector.
Overall, in all industries the BLS says the country saw an increase of 114,000 jobs in July. That figure, while still on the upside, was nevertheless substantially less than the 175,000 that a consensus of economists had earlier predicted for the month.
Even more, the 114,000 figure was below the average monthly gain of 215,000 seen in the last year, prompting some labor experts to speculate that a recent national hiring boom may be running out of steam.
Among the notable sector employment gainers in July: the healthcare industry, adding 55,000 new jobs; government employment with a 17,000 increase; and the transportation and warehousing industry, up by 14,000.
In a statement upon the release of the new BLS figures, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su acknowledged that while the July job growth figures “came in below expectations,” the national economy remains “the envy of the world.”
Su added that layoffs remain low, with the prime-age labor force participation rate now up to 84%, while wages “are still outpacing inflation, which has decreased to 3%.”
While Su’s remarks reflected a general Labor Department optimism on the current job picture, the trend line, according to the BLS, has been mostly on the downside.
In January of 2023, growth stood at 482,000, dropping to just under 290,000 the following month. For the rest of that year the average monthly gain was around 240,000.
The figures for 2024 have ranged between a high of 310,000 in March and a low the following month of 108,000.
The July figures, notes the publication Barron’s, produced “few silver linings,” with experts now “worrying about a snowballing economic slowdown.”
“It appears that America is heading into a recession,” remarked Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors.
“While it is true that many economists have been predicting this for more than two years,” Basu continued in a statement, “the recent slowing in economic activity feels different.”
As evidence of this different feeling, Basu pointed to losses hitting U.S. equity markets, and delayed action on the part of the Federal Reserve in reducing interest rates.
Offering a longer perspective, the Los Angeles Times observed that the country’s labor market has been “unusually resilient, and the unemployment rates remains low by historical standards.”
But the paper added that in comparison to stronger job gains earlier in the year, the newest figures have “revived worries of a recession among economists.”
By Garry Boulard
Image Credit: Courtesy of Department of Labor
