The August employment report was weaker than expected, and employment growth in different industries has a mixed impact on the U.S. economy.
Leisure and hospitality and health care and social assistance led the growth, adding more than 40,000 jobs in each category, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If private education were included in the health care category, as some economists do, that category would add 47,000 jobs.
Elsewhere in the report, there are conflicting figures for related job categories. Construction was a bright spot, adding 34,000 jobs, but manufacturing lost 24,000 jobs. Professional and business services jobs increased by 8,000, but information jobs fell by 7,000.
“Job growth is really coming from only three places right now: leisure and hospitality, health and education services, and government. … We just aren’t seeing a lot of growth in business and professional services, and I think that’s indicative of the “The economy is slowing down,” Betsey Stevenson told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “
Even some of the stronger categories have seen slowdowns, at least temporarily. The health care subsector added 31,000 jobs, about half the average over the past 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
