Private sector, construction add jobs in August; construction spending drops in July

Nonfarm payroll employment in August fell by 54,000, seasonally adjusted, as layoffs of temporary Census workers swamped an increase of 67,000 in private-sector payrolls, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today [Sept. 3]. The unemployment rate in August was 9.6 percent (9.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted), up slightly from 9.5 percent in July, according to a Sept. 3 Data DIGest report.