Payrolls grew and unemployment rolls declined during August, signaling a potential for a “normal” labor market sooner rather than later, according to a report from BBVA Research.
The research team for BBVA bank, parent of Alabama-based BBVA USA, noted that nonfarm payroll increased by 1.4 million while unemployment dropped to 8.4%. The month also saw 3 million fewer people on temporary layoffs and labor force participation up to 62 percent.
“The analysis, co-authored by BBVA Chief Economist Nathaniel Karp and Senior Economist Boyd Nash-Stacey, highlights the reverse in weekly hours declines from previous months, with all major industries except education and healthcare reporting a gain,” the bank said when it released the report. “Likewise, weekly earnings posted a solid 0.4 percent monthly gain, implying a 4.7 percent increase in the last 12 months.”
“The report imprints an upside bias to the research team’s short-term forecasts and suggests that labor market conditions could normalize sooner than expected.”
The research team warns, however, that because of the size of the pandemic’s influence on employment, “a full recovery to ‘maximum employment’ is still likely to take time.”
BBVA, a global bank based in Spain, is the parent of BBVA USA, which is based in Birmingham. BBVA USA is the second largest Alabama-based bank and maintains 89 of its 641 U.S. branches in Alabama.
To see the entire report, click here.
