Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 147,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.1%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The number of unemployed people, at 7.0 million, changed little over the month.
Employment gains continued to trend up in healthcare and state government, while federal government employment continued to decline.
Health care added 39,000 jobs in June, similar to the average monthly gain of 43,000 over the prior 12 months. In June, job gains occurred in hospitals (+16,000) and nursing and residential care facilities (+14,000).
Government employment rose by 73,000 in June. Employment in state government increased by 47,000, largely in education (+40,000). Employment in local government education continued to trend up (+23,000). Job losses continued in the federal government (-7,000), where employment is down by 69,000 since reaching a recent peak in January. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)
Employment in social assistance continued its upward trend in June (+19,000), reflecting continued growth in individual and family services (+16,000).
In June, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $36.30. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.7%.
In June, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hours to 34.2 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek held at 40.1 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined by 0.2 hours to 33.5 hours.
Read the BLS release.
