July 2024 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.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in July, and nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 114,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing, while information lost jobs.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage point to 4.3 percent in July, and the number of unemployed people increased by 352,000 to 7.2 million. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.5 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 5.9 million. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.0 percent) and Whites (3.8 percent) increased in July. The jobless rates for adult women (3.8 percent), teenagers (12.4 percent), Blacks (6.3 percent), Asians (3.7 percent), and Hispanics (5.3 percent) showed little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Among the unemployed, the number of people on temporary layoff increased by 249,000 to 1.1 million in July. The number of permanent job losers changed little at 1.7 million. (See table A-11.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.5 million in July. This measure is up from 1.2 million a year earlier. The long-term unemployed accounted for 21.6 percent of all unemployed people in July. (See table A-12.)

The labor force participation rate, at 62.7 percent, changed little in July and was little changed over the year. The employment-population ratio was little changed at 60.0 percent in July but is down by 0.4 percentage point over the year. (See table A-1.)

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons rose by 346,000 to 4.6 million in July. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job increased by 366,000 to 5.6 million in July, largely offsetting a decline in the previous month. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.6 million, was little changed in July. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, also changed little at 405,000 in July. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 114,000 in July, below the average monthly gain of 215,000 over the prior 12 months. In July, employment continued to trend up in health care, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing, while information lost jobs. (See table B-1.)

Health care added 55,000 jobs in July, similar to the average monthly gain of 63,000 over the prior 12 months. In July, employment rose in home health care services (+22,000), hospitals (+20,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000).

Employment continued to trend up in construction in July (+25,000), in line with the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+19,000). Employment in specialty trade contractors continued its upward trend in July (+19,000).

In July, employment continued to trend up in transportation and warehousing (+14,000), with job gains in couriers and messengers (+11,000) and warehousing and storage (+11,000). These gains were partially offset by a job loss in transit and ground passenger transportation (-11,000). Transportation and warehousing has added 119,000 jobs since a recent low in January of this year.

Employment in social assistance continued its upward trend in July (+9,000), but at a slower pace than the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+23,000).

Information employment declined by 20,000 in July but has changed little over the year.

Government employment was little changed in July (+17,000). Employment growth in government has slowed in recent months, following larger job gains in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

In July, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 8 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $35.07. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.6 percent. In July, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 9 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $30.14. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.2 hours in July. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged down by 0.2 hour to 39.9 hours, and overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised down by 2,000, from +218,000 to +216,000, and the change for June was revised down by 27,000, from +206,000 to +179,000. With these revisions, employment in May and June combined is 29,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)