Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The U.S. economy added 162,000 in August as hiring was unexpectedly up during the month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest report.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%, and the number of unemployed people changed little at 7 million. Both measures changed little over the year.
Employment in manufacturing continued its upward trend, gaining 16,000 jobs in August, up by 58,000 since a recent low in December 2025. Employment in machinery manufacturing was up 6,000 and up 6,000 in fabricated metal product manufacturing.
Construction employment changed little in August, with 22,000 jobs added in the month. Employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors continued to trend up (+8,000), similar to the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+6,000). Employment in the construction sector has increased in recent months, largely due to data center construction
