Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press
under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the
data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

                                       
                          Statement of
       
                      William J. Wiatrowski
                       Acting Commissioner
                   Bureau of Labor Statistics

                     Friday, August 4, 2017


      Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 209,000 in July, and the 
unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, was little changed. Job gains 
occurred in food services and drinking places, professional and 
business services, and health care. Employment growth has 
averaged 184,000 per month thus far this year, in line with the 
average monthly gain in 2016 (+187,000). 
      
      In July, employment in food services and drinking places 
rose by 53,000. The industry has added 313,000 jobs over the 
year.
      
      Professional and business services added 49,000 jobs in 
July. Thus far this year, monthly job gains in the industry have 
averaged 47,000, in line with average monthly employment growth 
in 2016 (+45,000).
      
      Health care employment grew by 39,000 over the month. Job 
gains occurred in ambulatory health care services (+30,000) and 
hospitals (+7,000). Over the past year, health care has added 
327,000 jobs.
      
      Mining employment was essentially unchanged in July. From 
its recent low in October 2016 through June, the industry had 
added an average of 7,000 jobs per month. 
      
      Employment in other major industries--construction, 
manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and 
warehousing, information, financial activities, and government--
showed little change over the month.
      
      Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 
payrolls increased by 9 cents to $26.36 in July. Over the past 
12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent. 
From June 2016 to June 2017, the Consumer Price Index for All 
Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 1.6 percent (on a 
seasonally adjusted basis).
      
      The major labor market indicators from the survey of 
households changed little in July. Both the number of unemployed 
people, at 7.0 million, and the unemployment rate, at 4.3 
percent, were about unchanged over the month. After declining 
earlier this year, the unemployment rate has changed little in 
recent months. 
      
      Among the unemployed in July, 1.8 million had been 
searching for work for 27 weeks or longer. These long-term 
unemployed accounted for 25.9 percent of the total unemployed.
      
      The labor force participation rate, at 62.9 percent, 
changed little in July and has shown little movement on net over 
the past year. The employment-population ratio, at 60.2 percent 
in July, also was little changed over the month but is up by 0.4 
percentage point over the year.
      
      Among the employed, the number working part time for 
economic reasons, also referred to as involuntary part-time 
workers, was about unchanged at 5.3 million in July. 
      
      Among those neither working nor looking for work in July, 
1.6 million people were marginally attached to the labor force, 
321,000 lower than a year earlier. Discouraged workers, a subset 
of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were 
available for them, numbered 536,000 in July, little different 
from the prior year. (People who were marginally attached to the 
labor force 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.)
      
      In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 
in July, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.3 percent.