July 2015 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.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 215,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in retail trade, health care, professional and technical services, and financial activities.

Household Survey Data

In July, both the unemployment rate (5.3 percent) and the number of unemployed persons (8.3 million) were unchanged. Over the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by 0.9 percentage point and 1.4 million, respectively. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers declined to 16.2 percent in July. The rates for adult men (4.8 percent), adult women (4.9 percent), whites (4.6 percent), blacks (9.1 percent), Asians (4.0 percent), and Hispanics (6.8 percent) showed little or no change. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of new entrants decreased by 107,000 in July. New entrants are unemployed persons who never previously worked. (See table A-11.)

In July, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 2.2 million. These individuals accounted for 26.9 percent of the unemployed. Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed is down by 986,000. (See table A-12.)

The civilian labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.6 percent in July, after declining by 0.3 percentage point in June. The employment-population ratio, at 59.3 percent, was also unchanged in July and has shown little movement thus far this year. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed in July at 6.3 million. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)

In July, 1.9 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, down by 251,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 668,000 discouraged workers in July, little changed from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.3 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in July had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 215,000 in July, compared with an average monthly gain of 246,000 over the prior 12 months. In July, job gains occurred in retail trade, health care, professional and technical services, and financial activities.

Employment in retail trade increased by 36,000 in July and has risen by 322,000 over the year. In July, motor vehicle and parts dealers added 13,000 jobs, and employment continued to trend up in general merchandise stores (+6,000).

Health care added 28,000 jobs in July and has added 436,000 jobs over the year. In July, employment rose in hospitals (+16,000).

Professional and technical services added 27,000 jobs in July, with gains in computer systems design and related services (+9,000) and architectural and engineering services (+6,000). Over the past 12 months, professional and technical services has added 301,000 jobs. Management of companies and enterprises added 14,000 jobs over the month.

Employment in financial activities rose by 17,000 in July and has risen by 156,000 over the past 12 months. Insurance carriers and related activities accounted for more than half of the gain in July (+10,000) and over the year (+85,000).

In July, manufacturing employment edged up (+15,000). Employment in nondurable goods rose by 23,000 over the month, including gains in food manufacturing (+9,000) and in plastics and rubber products (+6,000).

Employment in food services and drinking places continued to trend up in July (+29,000) and has increased by 376,000 over the year.

Employment in transportation and warehousing also continued to trend up in July (+14,000) and has risen by 146,000 over the year. Employment in couriers and messengers rose by 3,000 over the month.

Mining employment continued to trend down in July (-5,000). Since a recent high in December 2014, employment in the industry has declined by 78,000, with losses concentrated in support activities for mining.

Employment in other major industries, including construction, wholesale trade, information, and government, showed little change over the month.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.6 hours in July. The manufacturing workweek for all employees also edged up by 0.1 hour to 40.7 hours, and factory overtime was unchanged at 3.4 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In July, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 5 cents to $24.99. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.1 percent. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 3 cents to $21.01 in July. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised from +254,000 to +260,000, and the change for June was revised from +223,000 to +231,000. With these revisions, employment gains in May and June combined were 14,000 higher than previously reported. Over the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 235,000 per month.