July 2005 Employment Situation

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

Nonfarm employment grew by 207,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Depart- ment of Labor reported today. Over the month, payroll employment rose in many service-providing industries.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

Both the number of unemployed persons, 7.5 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.0 percent, were unchanged in July. A year earlier, the number of unemployed was 8.2 million and the jobless rate was 5.5 percent.

Over the month, the unemployment rates for most major worker groups--adult men (4.3 percent), adult women (4.7 percent), teenagers (16.1 percent), whites (4.3 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (5.5 percent)--showed little or no change. The jobless rate for blacks declined from 10.3 to 9.5 percent over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 5.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Both total employment and the civilian labor force rose in July. The em- ployment-population ratio, at 62.8 percent, and the labor force participation rate, at 66.1 percent, were essentially unchanged over the month. The employ- ment-population ratio has trended up in recent months. (See table A-1.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In July, 1.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, about the same as a year earlier. These individuals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed, however, because they did not actively search for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. There were 499,000 discouraged workers in July, about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.0 million persons marginally attached to the labor force had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm employment rose by 207,000 in July to 133.8 million, season- ally adjusted. This followed job gains of 126,000 in May and 166,000 in June (as revised). In July, there were employment gains in many service-providing industries, including retail trade, professional and technical services, finan- cial activities, food services, and health care. (See table B-1.)

Retail trade employment rose by 50,000 in July, following little change in June. This industry has gained 197,000 jobs over the year. In July, retail employment gains were widespread, including growth in clothing stores (13,000), motor vehicle and parts dealers (10,000), and building material and garden supply stores (7,000).

Employment in professional and technical services increased by 23,000 in July. Over the year, this industry has added 211,000 jobs. Management and technical consulting services, as well as architectural and engineering services, contributed to the July gain.

Employment in financial activities rose by 21,000 over the month, as credit intermediation and real estate showed continued strength. Since July 2004, employment in credit intermediation has grown by 93,000, while real estate has added 54,000 jobs.

Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, employment in food services and drinking places rose by 30,000 over the month. This industry has added 262,000 jobs over the year. The health care industry continued to grow in July, adding 29,000 jobs. Ambulatory health care services (which includes doctors' offices and outpatient clinics), hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities all contributed to the employment gain. Temporary help services employment was flat in July and has shown little net change since April.

In the goods-producing sector, construction employment continued to trend up. Thus far this year, job gains in construction have averaged 21,000 per month, about in line with the average monthly increase for 2004. In July, manu- facturing employment was about unchanged. The motor vehicle and parts industry shed 11,000 jobs, reflecting larger-than-usual shutdowns for annual retooling. Employment in wood products fell by 4,000. These losses were partly offset by small increases in several other manufacturing industries. Mining employ- ment remained about the same over the month.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours in July, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek remained at 40.4 hours, while manufacturing over- time increased by 0.1 hour to 4.5 hours. (See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.2 percent in July to 102.7 (2002=100). The manufacturing index was down by 0.1 percent over the month to 93.4. (See table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 6 cents in July to $16.13, seasonally adjusted. Average weekly earnings increased by 0.4 percent over the month to $543.58. Over the year, both average hourly and weekly earnings grew by 2.7 percent. (See table B-3.)