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Economic News Release
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Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release

Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until 
8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, August 5, 2022.


                            Statement of

                          William W. Beach
                            Commissioner
                     Bureau of Labor Statistics

                       Friday, August 5, 2022


      Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 528,000 in July, 
and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent. Job growth 
was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, 
professional and business services, and health care.
      
      In July, both total nonfarm employment and the unemployment 
rate returned to their February 2020 pre-pandemic levels. 
Private-sector employment is 629,000 higher than in February 
2020, although several sectors have yet to recover. Government 
employment is 597,000 lower than its pre-pandemic level.
      
      In July, employment growth continued in leisure and 
hospitality (+96,000), with most of the gain in food services 
and drinking places (+74,000). Employment in leisure and 
hospitality is down by 1.2 million, or 7.1 percent, from its 
February 2020 level.
      
      Employment in professional and business services increased 
by 89,000 in July and is 986,000 above its February 2020 level. 
In July, job gains were widespread within the industry, 
including in management of companies and enterprises (+13,000), 
architectural and engineering services (+13,000), management and 
technical consulting services (+12,000), and scientific research 
and development services (+10,000).
      
      Health care added 70,000 jobs in July, with gains in 
ambulatory health care services (+47,000), hospitals (+13,000), 
and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000). Employment 
in health care is 78,000 below its February 2020 level.
      
      Employment in government rose by 57,000 in July but is 
below its February 2020 level by 597,000. Over the month, 
employment increased by 37,000 in local government, mostly in 
education (+27,000). Employment in local government is below its 
February 2020 level by 555,000, or 3.8 percent, with the losses 
split between the education and non-education components.
      
      Employment in construction increased by 32,000 in July, 
mostly in specialty trade contractors (+22,000). Construction 
employment is 82,000 higher than in February 2020.
      
      Manufacturing added 30,000 jobs in July, with most of the 
gain in durable goods industries (+21,000). Manufacturing 
employment is 41,000 higher than in February 2020.
      
      In July, social assistance added 27,000 jobs, including a 
gain of 19,000 in individual and family services. Employment in 
social assistance is 53,000 below its February 2020 level.
      
      Retail trade employment rose by 22,000 in July, with growth 
in food and beverage stores (+9,000) and general merchandise 
stores (+8,000). Employment in retail trade is 208,000 higher 
than in February 2020.
      
      Transportation and warehousing added 21,000 jobs in July, 
with gains in air transportation (+7,000) and support activities 
for transportation (+6,000). Employment in transportation and 
warehousing is 745,000 higher than in February 2020.
      
      Information employment continued its upward trend in July 
(+13,000) and is 117,000 higher than in February 2020.
      
      Employment in financial activities continued to trend up in 
July (+13,000) and is 95,000 above its level in February 2020.
      
      In July, mining employment increased by 7,000, with gains 
in support activities for mining (+4,000) and in oil and gas 
extraction (+2,000). Since a recent low in February 2021, mining 
employment has grown by 96,000.
      
      Employment showed little change over the month in wholesale 
trade and in other services.
      
      In July, the average workweek for all private-sector 
workers was 34.6 hours for the fifth month in a row. The average 
workweek for manufacturing was unchanged at 40.4 hours.
      
      Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 
payrolls increased by 15 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $32.27 in 
July. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have 
increased by 5.2 percent.
      
      Turning to the labor market indicators from the household 
survey, both the unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent in July, and 
the number of unemployed people, at 5.7 million, edged down over 
the month. Both measures have returned to their February 2020 
levels.
      
      In July, the unemployment rates for adult women (3.1 
percent) and Whites (3.1 percent) declined. The jobless rates 
for adult men (3.2 percent), teenagers (11.5 percent), Blacks 
(6.0 percent), Asians (2.6 percent), and Hispanics (3.9 percent) 
showed little change.
      
      Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers, 
at 1.2 million in July, continued to trend down over the month 
and is 129,000 lower than in February 2020. The number of people 
on temporary layoff, at 791,000 in July, changed little over the 
month and has essentially returned to its pre-pandemic level.
      
      By duration of unemployment, the number of people 
unemployed for 27 weeks or more declined by 269,000 over the 
month to 1.1 million and has returned to its February 2020 
level. These long-term unemployed accounted for 18.9 percent of 
all unemployed people in July.
      
      The labor force participation rate, at 62.1 percent, and 
the employment-population ratio, at 60.0 percent, changed little 
in July. Both measures are below their February 2020 levels, by 
1.3 percentage points and 1.2 percentage points, respectively.
      
      In July, the number of people working part time for 
economic reasons rose by 303,000 to 3.9 million, reflecting an 
increase in the number of people whose hours were cut due to 
slack work or business conditions. The number of people working 
part time for economic reasons 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 little changed at 5.9 million in July. 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 about unchanged in July. (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, changed little at 424,000 in July.
      
      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 in July, unchanged over the 
month. 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 July, 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 2.2 million, little changed 
from June. (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 July that they were 
unable to work because of pandemic-related closures or lost 
business, 25.0 percent received at least some pay from their 
employer for the hours not worked, also little changed from 
June.
      
      Among those not in the labor force in July, 548,000 people 
were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, little 
changed from June. (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 528,000 
in July, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent.




Last Modified Date: August 05, 2022