Nonfarm payroll employment rises by 1.8 million in July; unemployment rate falls to 10.2%
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.8 million in July, and the unemployment rate fell to 10.2 percent. These improvements in the labor market reflected the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.8 million in July, and the unemployment
rate fell to 10.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These
improvements in the labor market reflected the continued resumption of economic
activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and
efforts to contain it. In July, notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality,
government, retail trade, professional and business services, other services, and
health care.
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
In July, the unemployment rate declined by 0.9 percentage point to 10.2 percent, and
the number of unemployed persons fell by 1.4 million to 16.3 million. Despite declines
over the past 3 months, these measures are up by 6.7 percentage points and 10.6 million,
respectively, since February. (See table A-1. For more information about how the
household survey and its measures were affected by the coronavirus pandemic, see the
box note at the end of this news release.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates declined in July for adult men
(9.4 percent), adult women (10.5 percent), teenagers (19.3 percent), Whites (9.2 percent),
Asians (12.0 percent), and Hispanics (12.9 percent). The jobless rate for Blacks (14.6
percent) showed little change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of unemployed persons who were on temporary layoff decreased by 1.3 million
in July to 9.2 million, about half its April level. In July, the number of permanent
job losers and the number of unemployed reentrants to the labor force were virtually
unchanged over the month, at 2.9 million and 2.4 million, respectively. (Reentrants
are persons who previously worked but were not in the labor force prior to beginning
their job search.) (See table A-11.)
Among the unemployed, those who were jobless less than 5 weeks increased by 364,000 to
3.2 million in July, and the number of persons jobless 15 to 26 weeks rose by 4.6 million
to 6.5 million. By contrast, the number of unemployed persons who were jobless 5 to 14
weeks fell by 6.3 million to 5.2 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those
jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.5 million, was little changed over the month. (See
table A-12.)
The labor force participation rate, at 61.4 percent, changed little in July, following
increases in May and June. Total employment, as measured by the household survey, rose
by 1.4 million in July to 143.5 million. The employment-population ratio rose by 0.5
percentage point to 55.1 percent but remains lower than in February (61.1 percent).
(See table A-1.)
In July, the number of persons who usually work part time rose by 803,000 to 24.0 million,
while the number who usually work full time, at 119.5 million, was little changed. (See
table A-9.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to
as involuntary part-time workers) declined by 619,000 to 8.4 million in July, reflecting
a decline in the number of people whose hours were cut due to slack work or business
conditions (-658,000). The number of involuntary part-time workers is 4.1 million higher
than in February. 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. This group includes persons who usually work full time and persons who usually
work part time. (See table A-8.)
In July, the number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job declined
by 463,000 to 7.7 million; this measure is 2.8 million higher than in February. These
individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for
work during the last 4 weeks or were unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)
Among those not in the labor force who currently want a job, persons marginally attached
to the labor force fell by 492,000 to 2.0 million in July. 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 but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were
available for them, numbered 665,000 in July, essentially unchanged from the previous month.
(See Summary table A.)
Source:US Bureau of Statistics
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