No net new jobs were created in the U.S. economy in August. Zip!
According to figures released Friday by the U.S. Labor Department, the private sector added 17,000 jobs, but the public sector also let go 17,000 workers in August. So, nothing, no jobs were added, leaving the unemployment unchanged at a high 9.1 percent.
With 25 million Americans already out of work and in the absence of robust private sector job growth, continuing to slash jobs at the local, state and federal levels will only make matters worse.
In August, local governments cut 20,000 jobs nation-wide and have shed 398,000 jobs since February 2010.
At the level of state government, 5,000 jobs were added as an estimated 22,000 furloughed Minnesota state workers returned to work.
More public sector workforce reductions are underway, including at the federal level. In August, government agencies announced plans to cut more than 18,000 workers from their payrolls, according to a report released by Challenger Gray, on Wednesday.
“Congress and the White House are under immense pressure to cut federal budgets and while the heaviest cuts are due in 2014, we will probably begin seeing some fallout starting this year and into 2012,” said Challenger.
Sectors with employment increases in August included health care and social assistance (+35,000) and professional and business services (+28,000).
Employment declines occurred in information (-48,000, including striking Verizon workers), construction (-5,000) and manufacturing (-3,000).
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for Black Americans jumped to 16.7 percent in August, up from 15.9 percent the month before, making it the highest rate under the Presidency of Barack Obama.
