Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 114,000 in June and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
Job gains occurred in healthcare, construction, and in transportation and warehousing.
Health care added 55,000 jobs in July, slightly below the average monthly gain of 63,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment rose in home health care services (+22,000), hospitals (+20,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000).
Employment continued to grow in construction (+25,000), in line with average monthly growth over the prior 12 months (+19,000).
Transportation and warehousing added 14,000 jobs, with gains in couriers and messengers (+11,000) and warehousing and storage (+11,000). These gains were partially offset by a job loss in transit and ground passenger transportation (-11,000).
Employment in social assistance continued its upward trend in July (+9,000), but at a slower pace than the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+23,000).
Information employment declined by 20,000 in July but has changed little over the year.
Government employment was little change in July (+17,000). Employment growth in government has slowed in recent months, following larger job gains in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
Read the BLS release.
