Dive Brief:

• According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (BLS) the employment rate for the waste and recycling industry increased in August.
• Jobs in the field grew by 300 positions, with a workforce record of 382,500 workers.
• The August numbers mark the seventh consecutive month that employment in the waste and recycling industry grew.

Dive Insight:

“The waste and recycling industry continues to benefit from stable economic conditions,” said Bret Biggers, director of statistics and standards for the National Waste & Recycling Association.  

The industry’s August unemployment rate remains at a seven-year low. The 4.4% unemployment rate sits at half the rate it was in August of 2013, when it was 9.4%.

Last month, the BLS released employment statistics for July, which cited the unemployment rate in the waste and recycling industry at 3.2% while the national unemployment rate was recorded at slightly above 6%.