WASHINGTON (Sept. 5, 2014) — Total nonfarm payroll employment increased in August by 142,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Meanwhile, the human resource company ADP, which uses different methods of calculating employment figures from the BLS, said U.S. employment increased in August by 204,000 jobs. Some 21,360 of those jobs were in the franchise sector, ADP said.
The strongest August job gains were in the professional and business services sector, according to the BLS. That sector added 47,000 jobs, with 23,000 of them in administrative and support services.
Construction gained 20,000 jobs in August, but manufacturing was flat, with motor vehicle and parts manufacturing losing 5,000 jobs.
“This jobs report is a big disappointment for factory workers,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. “While we can never read too much into just a month's worth of data, a goose egg for manufacturing doesn't look like progress to us.”
Retail trade lost 8,000 jobs in August, though much of that was due to the Market Basket supermarket strike in Massachusetts, the BLS said. Auto dealers added 5,000 jobs, it said.
The ADP report said that small businesses—those with fewer than 50 employees—gained 78,000 jobs in August. Medium-sized businesses (50 to 499 employees) added 75,000, and largest businesses (500 or more employees) 52,000.
Because of rounding, the sum of the components does not equal the total, ADP said.
Unlike the BLS report, the ADP report said manufacturing gained 23,000 jobs in August. It also listed job increases of 51,000 in professional and business services; 28,000 in trade/transportation/utilities; 15,000 in construction; and 5,000 in financial activities.
ADP derives its figures from payroll data, the company said. Its franchise report, which is separate from its employment report, said that franchise job growth in August was slightly down from the 12-month average. Auto parts and dealers, however, continued to be strong, the company said.