After three consecutive months of job losses, employment rose by 800 in August from July. July’s number was revised upwards by 1,100, although it was still lower than June.
Professional and Business services saw the largest increase in employment in August, at over 550. Manufacturing also saw a small increase, and manufacturing employment is the highest since November 2024 at 24,085.
The government sector saw large employment losses in August across all three levels of government. Federal employment fell by 200 and has fallen by 500, or 6%, since February, when DOGE started cutting federal agency employment. With the threat of mass firings if the government shuts down, more job losses in this sector could be on the way. State government employment fell by 200, but the largest job losses were seen in local government. Local government employment fell by over 450 and is at the lowest level since June 2023.
Other sectors that lost jobs in August include education and health care services, which lost 600 jobs, and mining, logging, and construction, which fell by over 140. Most other sectors were largely unchanged in August.
The latest GDP figures released last week were strong, with imports down (imports are subtracted from GDP) and consumer spending remaining strong. In Augusta, retail employment is up 300 from a year ago and accounts for almost 28,000 jobs.
