Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until
8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, July 8, 2022.
Statement of
William W. Beach
Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, July 8, 2022
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 372,000 in June, and the
unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent. Notable job gains
occurred in professional and business services, leisure and
hospitality, and health care.
Total nonfarm employment is down by 524,000, or 0.3
percent, from its February 2020 level before the onset of the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Private-sector employment has
recovered the net job losses due to the pandemic and is 140,000
higher than in February 2020, while government employment is
664,000 lower.
Job growth continued in professional and business services
in June (+74,000). Employment rose in management of companies
and enterprises (+12,000), computer systems design and related
services (+10,000), office administrative services (+8,000), and
scientific research and development services (+6,000).
Employment in professional and business services is 880,000
above its February 2020 level.
In June, leisure and hospitality added 67,000 jobs.
However, employment in the industry is down by 1.3 million, or
7.8 percent, since February 2020. Job growth continued in food
services and drinking places in June (+41,000).
Employment in health care rose by 57,000 in June, with job
growth in ambulatory health care services (+28,000), hospitals
(+21,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+8,000).
Employment in ambulatory health care services is 260,000 above
its pre-pandemic level. Compared with February 2020, employment
is down by 57,000 in hospitals and by 379,000 in nursing and
residential care facilities. Employment in health care overall
is 176,000 below its February 2020 level.
Transportation and warehousing added 36,000 jobs in June,
with gains in warehousing and storage (+18,000) and air
transportation (+8,000). Employment in transportation and
warehousing is 759,000 higher than in February 2020.
In June, manufacturing added 29,000 jobs, mostly in
nondurable goods (+18,000). Manufacturing employment has
returned to its pre-pandemic level.
Employment in information rose by 25,000 in June, including
an increase of 9,000 in publishing industries, except Internet.
Employment in information is 105,000 higher than in February
2020.
In June, employment in social assistance grew by 21,000.
Employment continued to trend up in child day care services
(+11,000) and in individual and family services (+10,000).
Employment in social assistance is 87,000 below its February
2020 level.
Wholesale trade added 16,000 jobs in June, with half of the
gain in nondurable goods. Employment in wholesale trade is
18,000 lower than in February 2020.
In June, mining employment increased by 5,000, with a gain
of 2,000 in oil and gas extraction. Since a recent low in
February 2021, mining employment has grown by 86,000.
Employment showed little change over the month in other
major industries, including construction, retail trade,
financial activities, other services, and government.
The average workweek for all private-sector workers was
unchanged at 34.5 hours in June. The average workweek for
manufacturing was little changed at 40.3 hours.
Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls increased by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $32.08 in
June. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 5.1 percent.
Turning to the labor market indicators from the household
survey, the unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in June for the
fourth month in a row, and the number of unemployed people was
essentially unchanged at 5.9 million. Both measures are little
different from their February 2020 levels (3.5 percent and 5.7
million, respectively).
In June, the unemployment rate for Asians increased to 3.0
percent, offsetting a decrease in the prior month. The jobless
rates for adult men (3.3 percent), adult women (3.3 percent),
teenagers (11.0 percent), Whites (3.3 percent), Blacks (5.8
percent), and Hispanics (4.3 percent) showed little or no change
in June.
Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers
was little changed at 1.3 million in June. The number of people
on temporary layoff was also little changed at 827,000. Both
measures are little different from their February 2020 levels.
By duration of unemployment, the number of people
unemployed for 27 weeks or more (often referred to as the long-
term unemployed), at 1.3 million, was essentially unchanged over
the month but is 215,000 above its February 2020 level. In June,
the long-term unemployed accounted for 22.6 percent of all
unemployed people.
The labor force participation rate, at 62.2 percent, and
the employment-population ratio, at 59.9 percent, changed little
in June. Both measures are below their February 2020 levels, by
1.2 percentage points and 1.3 percentage points, respectively.
In June, the number of people working part time for
economic reasons fell by 707,000 to 3.6 million and is below its
February 2020 level of 4.4 million.
The number of people not in the labor force who currently
want a job was essentially unchanged at 5.7 million in June.
This measure remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0
million.
Among those who were not in the labor force but wanted a
job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor
force, at 1.5 million, was essentially unchanged in June.
(People who are marginally attached to the labor force had not
actively 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 little changed at 364,000 in June.
Looking at the supplemental pandemic-related measures from
the household survey (these supplemental data are not seasonally
adjusted), the share of employed people who teleworked because
of the pandemic was 7.1 percent, down from May. These data refer
only to employed people who teleworked or worked at home for pay
at some point in the last 4 weeks specifically because of the
pandemic; they do not include all instances of telework.
In June, the number of people who reported that they had
been unable to work because their employer closed or lost
business due to the pandemic was 2.1 million, up from May.
(These individuals did not work at all or worked fewer hours at
some point in the last 4 weeks due to the pandemic.) Among those
who reported in June that they were unable to work because of
pandemic-related closures or lost business, 24.8 percent
received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not
worked, little changed from May.
Among those not in the labor force in June, 610,000 people
were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, up
from May. (To be counted as unemployed, by definition,
individuals must either be actively searching for work or on
temporary layoff.)
In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 372,000
in June, and the unemployment rate held at 3.6 percent.
United States Department of Labor
