Leisure and hospitality gains 592,000 jobs in July 2020, about one-third of total nonfarm job gains

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1.8 million in July 2020, less than the increases of 4.8 million in June and 2.7 million in May. In July, nonfarm employment was lower than its February level by 12.9 million. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 592,000, accounting for about one-third of the gain in total nonfarm employment in July.

Government employment rose by 301,000 in July but was 1.1 million below its February level. Typically, public-sector education employment declines in July (before seasonal adjustment). However, employment declines occurred earlier than usual this year due to the pandemic.

In July, retail trade added 258,000 jobs. Employment in the industry was 913,000 lower than in February. Employment in professional and business services increased in July (+170,000) but remained 1.6 million below its February level.

Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 38,000 in July, following an increase of 87,000 in June. Despite job gains over the past 2 months, employment in the industry was down by 470,000 since a recent peak in January.

Mining continued to shed jobs in July (−7,000) and has lost 127,000 jobs since a recent peak in January 2019, although nearly three-fourths of this decline has occurred since February 2020.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program. Data for the most recent 2 months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — July 2020" and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the July data. We also have more charts on nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings.