Data showed hiring rebound in August. Where were all the jobs?

In a shock to some forecasters, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated on Sept. 4 that U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs in August, and revisions to prior months' totals reflected a stronger summer job market than previously thought.

Hiring was widespread, spanning goods production, services, and government jobs, according to Jim Baird, Plante Moran Financial Advisors' chief investment officer.

"Notably, it wasn't concentrated narrowly in a few sectors as has been the case during extended stretches over the last year," he said in a note to USA TODAY, adding that although the leisure and hospitality and health care sectors continued to add jobs, "solid gains in manufacturing, construction, government, and other parts of the service economy suggest a broadening in hiring that points to a more balanced labor market."

While the overall August estimate may have been a welcome surprise to job seekers, one month's report is not enough to establish a trend, according to LinkedIn’s head of economics for the Americas Kory Kantenga.

"Taken together, the data point to a stable labor market, not an accelerating one," he said in a note to USA TODAY. "The strong gains in Leisure and Hospitality and Government are a rebound from earlier…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/