Economy
September 13, 2018
Net Job Creation Through August 2018
Written by Peter Wright
The U.S. economy created 201,000 net jobs in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from 147,000 in July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. This is the last employment report before the next FOMC meeting on Sept. 26 when the Feds are expected to raise interest rates for the third time this year.
Rising employment and wages are the main contributor to GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to GDP; therefore, this is one of the indicators that helps us understand the reality of the steel market. The 201,000 jobs created in August, as reported by the BLS, totaled 54,000 more than the July increase. This improvement was partly due to July being revised down by 17,000. In addition, June was revised down by 42,000.
