August Jobs Surge Gets Boost From Restaurants, Education and Seasonal Factors

US employers added 162,000 jobs in August, nearly triple the roughly 55,000 increase economists had expected, but much of the unexpectedly strong gain came from two sectors affected by seasonal factors and the FIFA World Cup.

US employment increased by 162,000 in August, with restaurants and local government education accounting for a large share of the monthly gain. [Photo: U.S. Department of Labor X]

The August increase was reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which said the unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent.

Food services and drinking places added 59,000 jobs, far above their average monthly increase of 12,000 over the previous year. Local government education added another 42,000 jobs, largely reversing a decline in July.

Together, those two sectors accounted for 101,000 jobs, or about 62 percent of the total August increase.

The unusually strong restaurant hiring coincided with the FIFA World Cup, which generated additional demand for hospitality and leisure businesses.

Analysts have also pointed to seasonal adjustments as an important factor behind the unusually large increase.

The education increase also requires context. BLS data show that local government education employment rose sharply in August after falling in July, meaning some of the August increase represented a reversal of the previous month's decline.

The concentration of job gains in these sectors means the headline employment increase should be interpreted cautiously rather than as evidence that hiring suddenly accelerated across the entire US economy.