U.S. Only Added 235,000 Jobs in August After Blockbuster July, Fueling Concerns About Delta Impact

U.S. Only Added 235,000 Jobs in August After Blockbuster July, Fueling Concerns About Delta Impact

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that the U.S. economy only added 235,000 new jobs in August.

The U.S. had seen 943,000 new jobs added in July 

“Why it matters,” reported Axios. “It’s the first jobs report to factor in the extent of the COVID-19 surge driven by the Delta variant — showing a massive slowdown in the recovery after July's blockbuster jobs report. Economists had expected 725,000 jobs to be added.”

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In Rhode Island, coronavirus hospitalizations are up 50% since the beginning of August — and former RI Director of Health Dr. Michael Fine on GoLocal LIVE warned of the potential for unvaccinated children under 12 to spread the more contagious Delta variant as students go back to school. 

“This is a very weak report, which will dissuade the Federal Reserve from pulling back on the amount of cash it's injecting into the economy every month,” Axios continued. “The leisure and hospitality industry saw no job growth at all, in a clear indication that the slowdown was directly related to the rise of the Delta variant.”

Wages did rise 0.6% in August, however, to a level 4.3% higher than they were a year previously.

READ THE JOBS REPORT HERE