U.S. adds 163,000 jobs in July

TOTAL NONFARM payroll employment in the U.S. rose by 163,000 in July. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
TOTAL NONFARM payroll employment in the U.S. rose by 163,000 in July. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

WASHINGTON – Total nonfarm payroll employment in the U.S. rose by 163,000 in July, though the country’s unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday.

Both the number of unemployed Americans – 12.8 million – and the unemployment rate – 8.3 percent – were essentially unchanged in July and have shown little movement since the start of 2012, according to the BLS report.

In July, employment rose in professional and business services, food services and drinking places as well as manufacturing.

Employment in professional and business services rose by 49,000, computer systems
design added 7,000 jobs and employment in temporary help services added 14,000 jobs during July.

- Advertisement -

Within leisure and hospitality, employment in food services and drinking places rose by 29,000 over the month and by 292,000 year over year.

Manufacturing employment rose by 25,000 in July, with nearly all of the increase in durable goods manufacturing. Within durable goods, employment in fabricated metal products rose by 5,000 and the motor vehicles and parts industry had fewer seasonal layoffs that typical for July.

Employment also continued to trend up in health care with the addition of 12,000. Within health care, outpatient care centers and hospitals saw over-the-month job gains of 4,000 and 5,000, respectively.

Utilities employment dropped 8,000 during July, reflecting 8,500 utility workers who were off payroll due to a labor-management dispute.

Employment in other major industries – including mining and logging, construction, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities and government – showed little to no change in July.

The unemployment rate for Hispanics edged down to 10.3 percent during the month, but the rates for adult men, adult women, teenagers, Asians, whites and blacks showed little or no change.

The unemployment rate among black Americans was highest at 14.1 percent. Comparatively, the unemployment rate for Asians was 6.2 percent in July, not seasonally adjusted.

In July, the number of long-term unemployed – those jobless for 27 weeks or more – was little changed at 5.2 million. According to the report, long-term unemployed individuals account for 40.7 percent of America’s unemployed.

The number of underemployed workers in the U.S. – those working part time for economic reasons – was essentially unchanged in July at 8.2 million. According to the BLS, these people were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

There were 852,000 discouraged workers in July, a decline of 267,000 from a year earlier. A discouraged worker is someone not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available.

For the full report, visit www.bls.gov.

No posts to display