A wave of strikes and the collapse of a major carrier took a toll on US payroll growth in August.
The film and trucking industries saw a combined 54,000 drop in jobs in government data out Friday, mainly reflecting the bankruptcy of carrier Yellow Corp. and a Hollywood strike that extended to actors.
That total — which breaks down to 37,000 jobs in trucking and 17,000 in movies — helped mitigate an otherwise firm month of hiring in the country. Overall, the US added a better-than-expected 187,000 jobs in August.
“Smoothing past these two one-off factors on the transportation and information sectors would have pushed August payroll gains above 200,000 – which is generally considered strong job growth for the US economy,” Aaron Terrazas, chief economist at Glassdoor Inc., said in a note.
There have been more than 250 strikes in nearly 380 locations across the country this year, according to the Cornell IRL Labor Action Tracker.
And many more may join them. Bloomberg Economics estimates that if the United Auto Workers union fails to reach a deal with General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV before the mid-September deadline, a strike by its 150,000 members could result in a negative payroll print in the future.
Data behind last month’s job report comes from a survey conducted between Aug. 6 and Aug. 12. Workers who were on strike during that entire week weren’t counted in the monthly payroll figures. That would include thousands of actors who joined the Writers Guild of America in their strike in July.
--With assistance from Josh Eidelson.
