Still employment in manufacturing seems to be heading down again. The August figure is 14,000 below the May level, and the index of hours worked stands 0.5 percent lower. These numbers together, with July data showing a large decline in new orders, indicate that factory employment will be declining through the fall. The falloff is occurring most in predictable sectors. Employment in lumber products is down 10,000 since May, employment in transportation is down by 19,000.
Apparel continues to lose jobs at a rapid pace.
Employment has declined by 19,000 since April and the index of hours worked is down by 6.6 percent over this period. Retail trade lost 35,000 jobs in August, but this followed an usually large jump of 74,000 in July. This sector has created an average of 32,000 jobs over the last three months. The personal and business service sector added 160,000 jobs in August after growing by just 11,000 in July. This sector has averaged 95,000 new jobs over the last five months compared with 120,000 per month last year.