State and local education hiring drives 8,100 government payroll increase in August

Annalise Vance Sherman said government payrolls were a bright spot in the August report, with government employment up about 8,100 jobs. "We saw, government increases primarily taking hold in state and local government. Federal employment actually dropped by 300. State employment added 4,700 jobs, and 3,300 of those were within educational institutions at the statewide level. Local employment was up 3,000," she said.

Sherman said the government gains were concentrated in education at both the state and local levels, while federal employment edged downward. Those public-sector gains partially offset declines in private sectors that showed weakness in the monthly tally.