Key Points:
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 4.8 million in June, much better than the expected increase of 2.9 million.
Around 56% of unemployed Americans — or about 9.2 million people — are actually furloughed. While historically elevated, that share fell from a peak of about 78% in April. That suggests the unemployment rate could potentially reverse quickly if the job losses don’t become permanent.
May and June saw a combined increase of more than 7.5 million, the fastest two-month rise in U.S. history. The reason for those big gains, though, primarily was the return of displaced workers who were laid off as the nation sought to flatten the rise in the Covid-19 pandemic.
inside the numbers:
Analysis of the July Employment Report
Temporary help gained 143,000 jobs in July. This is the second month in a row of strong job gains in this category. That could reflect employers desire to hire contractors first, as COVID outbreaks could cause some states to reimpose restrictions.
Prime age labor force participation rate (ages 25-54) was down this month by .2% to 81.3%.
The overall labor force participation was little changed at 61.4%.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private non farm payrolls increased by 7 cents to $29.39.
The average workweek for all employees on private non farm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours in July. In manufacturing, the workweek rose by 0.7 hour to 39.7 hours, and overtime increased by 0.3 hour to 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and non supervisory employees on private non farm payrolls was unchanged at 34.0 hours.
ADP reported that the US economy gained 167,000 jobs in July.
Source: BLS and ADP
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