According to the National Federation of Independent Business, in August, 11 percent of the companies surveyed increased the average employment by 2.3 employees. The payroll was cut by an average of 3.5 workers which constituted 13 percent of respondents. This was decreased from 15 percent in July. It was reported that there were no changes made to the labor force.
The job creation during that time was weak. New firms and services were the only source of new jobs in the private sector. According to a survey conducted by the Reuters, for the government’s non-farm payrolls report, it was found that the private sector payrolls increased to 41,000 in August. This was very few than the 71,000 jobs added in July. The fall in employment in July was found to be 131,000 and the overall employment was expected to decline by 100,000.
The survey by NFIB reported that the unfilled openings rate was increased to 11 percent. This suggested little change in the unemployment rate. According to the Reuters survey, the unemployment rate which was up to 9.5 percent in July rose to 9.6 percent in August.