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under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that 
the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.


                          Statement of

                        Erica L. Groshen
                          Commissioner
                   Bureau of Labor Statistics

                     Friday, August 7, 2015

      
      Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 215,000 in July, and the 
unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent. Employment 
increased in retail trade, health care, professional and 
technical services, and financial activities. 

      Incorporating revisions for May and June, which increased 
nonfarm payroll employment by 14,000, monthly job gains have 
averaged 235,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior 
to July, employment growth averaged 246,000 per month.

      Retail trade employment rose by 36,000 in July, with motor 
vehicle and parts dealers contributing 13,000 of the increase.  
Over the year, retail trade has added 322,000 jobs. 

      Health care employment increased by 28,000 over the month, 
and has grown by 436,000 over the year. Hospitals added 16,000 
jobs in July.

      Employment in professional and technical services rose by 
27,000 over the month, as job growth continued in computer 
systems design and related services (+9,000) and in 
architectural and engineering services (+6,000). Employment 
gains in these two industries have accounted for nearly half of 
the 301,000 increase in professional and technical services 
employment over the past 12 months.

      Employment in financial activities increased by 17,000 in 
July. Within the industry, insurance carriers and related 
activities added 10,000 jobs. 

      Manufacturing employment edged up by 15,000 over the month. 
Job gains occurred in several nondurable industries, including 
food manufacturing (+9,000) and plastics and rubber products 
(+6,000). 

      In July, employment continued to trend up in food services 
and drinking places (+29,000) and in transportation and 
warehousing (+14,000). 

      Mining employment continued on a downward trend in July
(-5,000). Since its recent peak in December, mining has shed 
78,000 jobs. 

      Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 
payrolls rose by 5 cents in July to $24.99. Over the past 12 
months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.1 percent. From 
June 2014 to June 2015, the Consumer Price Index for all Urban 
Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 0.2 percentage point (on a 
seasonally adjusted basis). 

      Turning now to data from the survey of households, most 
major indicators showed little or no change over the month. The 
unemployment rate held at 5.3 percent in July, and the number of 
unemployed was unchanged at 8.3 million. Among the unemployed, 
26.9 percent, or 2.2 million, had been unemployed 27 weeks or 
more, little changed from the prior month.  

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

      Among those employed in July, 6.3 million were working part 
time for economic reasons. These individuals, also referred to 
as involuntary part-time workers, would have preferred full-time 
employment but were working part time because their hours had 
been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time 
work. The number of involuntary part-time workers changed little 
over the month, but has fallen by 1.1 million over the year.

      Among people who were neither working nor looking for work 
in July, 1.9 million were classified as marginally attached to 
the labor force, down from 2.2 million a year earlier. These 
individuals had not looked for work in the 4 weeks prior to the 
survey but wanted a job, were available for work, and had looked 
for a job within the last 12 months. The number of discouraged 
workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that 
no jobs were available for them, was 668,000 in July, little 
different from a year earlier.

      In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 215,000 in 
July, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent.