September 2022 Jobs Report: A Look at August's Trends

Executive Summary

Unemployment eased at an overall rate of 3.7% in August compared to the previous month’s rate of 3.5% — the tightest it’s been since the ‘70s. With a growing labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 62.4%, and the addition of 786,000 new workers, hiring efforts may begin to level out as more people join the workforce and add to the pool of available candidates. Although unemployment rates may have risen overall, the rate among degreed workers fell to 1.9% — its lowest rate since 2006. For the fifth month in a row, quits have decreased as 4.18 million workers left their jobs. Although decreasing, rates remain elevated and are 21.2% higher than pre-pandemic levels.