Both nonfarm payroll employment (-23,000) and the unemployment rate (4.1%) dipped from June’s 4.2%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Employment declined in local government education and retail trade. Employment continued to trend up in health care.
Both the unemployment rate, at 4.1%, and the number of unemployed people, at 6.9 million, changed little in July. These measures also changed little over the year.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for teenagers (12.1%) and people who are Hispanic (4.6%) declined in July. The jobless rates for adult men (3.9%), adult women (3.7%), and people who are White (3.6%), Black (6.3%), or Asian (4.0%) showed little or no change over the month.
Among the unemployed, the number of people on temporary layoff increased by 153,000 to 921,000 in July. The number of permanent job losses changed little at 1.7 million.
