The construction industry saw notable employment gains in August among the various sectors, adding 34,000 jobs – above the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the past 12 months. Heavy and civil engineering construction and nonresidential specialty contractors each saw gains of 14,000 jobs.
Hiring in the healthcare sector came in at 31,000 jobs added in August, though that is about half of the monthly average of 60,000 over the last year. The healthcare industry's hiring was led by ambulatory healthcare services (24,000) and hospitals (10,000).
The construction industry posted a notable gain in the August jobs report. (Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Social assistance added 13,000 jobs, though that figure was also slower than the 21,000 per month the sector saw on average in the past 12 months. Individual and family services added 18,000 jobs, which was partially offset by job losses of 2,500 in child care services and 2,200 in vocational and rehabilitation services.
In other sectors, leisure and hospitality services added 46,000 jobs, led by gains in accommodation and food services (33,500); while the government sector added 24,000 jobs – primarily at the local government level (22,000).
"Nonfarm payrolls increased by less than expected in August, with a sharp decline in manufacturing jobs, the biggest surprise relative to our forecast," said Nancy Vanden Houten, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.
Manufacturing employment declined by 24,000 jobs in August, with the losses concentrated in durable goods (25,000) – specifically in transportation equipment manufacturing (12,000). The manufacturing sector has seen a slight net change over the past year, having lost a net 14,000 jobs compared to last August.
The manufacturing sector saw a decline of 24,000 workers in August. (Photographer: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The retail trade industry shed 11,000 jobs in August, with notable declines in health and personal care retailers (6,600), clothing and accessories (5,500) as well as general merchandise (2,200). Within the sector, the largest gains were at building material and garden equipment dealers (3,800).
Businesses in the information industry lost 7,000 jobs last month, with the largest declines in motion picture and sound recording (4,200) and publishing (3,700).
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. passenger airlines have seen a considerable increase of nearly 194,000 jobs since 2021, marking a hiring spree following a period of pandemic-induced slowdown. However, the industry is now experiencing a decrease in hiring, partly due to various challenges.
These challenges include a surplus of flights leading to lower fares and reduced profits for airlines, moderated demand growth, delays in airplane deliveries from Boeing and Airbus, shortages of engines, and increased labor costs due to new contracts with higher wages for groups such as pilots and mechanics. As a result, the annual pay for a three-year first officer on midsized equipment at U.S. airlines has risen significantly, reaching an average of $170,586 in March 2024 as compared to $135,896 in 2019, according to aviation consultant Kit Darby.
Since 2019, costs at U.S. carriers have climbed by double-digit percentages. Stripping out fuel and net interest expenses, they’ll be up about 20% at American Airlines this year and around 28% higher at both United Airlines and Delta Air Lines from 2019, according to Raymond James airline analyst Savanthi Syth.
It is more pronounced at low-cost airlines. Southwest Airlines’ costs will likely be up 32%, JetBlue Airways’ up nearly 35% and Spirit Airlines will see a rise of almost 39% over the same period, estimated Syth, whose data is adjusted for flight length.
Friday’s U.S. jobs report showed air transportation employment in August roughly in line with July’s.
But there have been pullbacks. In the most severe case, Spirit Airlines furloughed 186 pilots this month, their union said Sunday, as the carrier’s losses have grown in the wake of a failed acquisition by JetBlue Airways, a Pratt & Whitney engine recall, and an oversupplied U.S. market. Last year, even before the merger fell apart, it offered staff buyouts.
Other airlines are easing hiring or finding other ways to cut costs.
Frontier Airlines is still hiring pilots but said it will offer voluntary leaves of absence in September and October when demand generally dips after the summer holidays but before Thanksgiving and winter breaks. A spokeswoman for the carrier said it offers those leaves “periodically” for “when our staffing levels exceed our planned flight schedules.”
Southwest Airlines expects to end the year with 2,000 fewer employees compared with 2023 and earlier this year said it would halt hiring classes for work groups including pilots and flight attendants. CFO Tammy Romo said on an earnings call in July that the company’s headcount would likely be down again in 2025 as attrition levels exceed the Dallas-based carrier’s “controlled hiring levels.”
United Airlines, which paused pilot hiring in May and June, citing late-arriving planes from Boeing, said it plans to add 10,000 people this year, down from 15,000 in 2022 and 2023. It plans to hire 1,600 pilots, down from more than 2,300 last year.
It’s a departure from the previous years when airlines couldn’t hire employees fast enough. U.S. airlines are usually adding pilots constantly since they are required to retire at age 65 by federal law.
Airlines shed tens of thousands of employees in 2020 to try to stem record losses. Packages of more than $50 billion in taxpayer aid that were passed to get the industry through its worst-ever crisis prohibited layoffs, but many employees took carriers up on their repeated offers of buyouts and voluntary leaves.
Then, travel demand snapped back faster than expected, climbing in earnest in 2022 and leaving airlines without experienced employees like customer service agents. It also led to the worst pilot shortage in recent memory.
In response, companies — especially regional carriers — offered big bonuses to attract pilots.
But times have changed. Even air freight giants were competing for pilots in recent years but demand has waned as FedEx and UPS look to cut costs.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said in an investor presentation in March that the carrier added about 2,300 pilots last year and that it expects to hire about 1,300 this year.
“We will be hiring for the foreseeable future at levels like that,” he said at the time.
Despite the lower targets, students continue to fill classrooms and cockpits to train and build up hours to become pilots, said Ken Byrnes, chairman of the flight department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
“Travel demand is still there,” he said. “I don’t see a long-term slowdown.”