A newly released U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 117,000 in July. However, the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.1 percent.
Following is a summary of the employment report:
Manufacturing employment increased by 24,000 positions in July, with nearly all of the increase seen in durable goods manufacturing. Within durable goods, the motor vehicles and parts industry had fewer seasonal layoffs than typical for July, contributing to a seasonally adjusted employment increase of 12,000. Manufacturing has added 289,000 jobs since its most recent trough in December 2009, and durable goods manufacturing added 327,000 jobs during this period.
Health care employment grew by 31,000 in July. Ambulatory health care services and hospitals each added 14,000 jobs over the month. Over the past 12 months, health care employment has grown by 299,000.
Retail trade added 26,000 jobs in July. Employment in health and personal care stores rose by 9,000 over the month, with small increases distributed among several other retail industries. Employment in retail trade has increased by 228,000 since a recent low in December 2009.
In July, employment in mining rose by 9,000; virtually all of the gain (+8,000) occurred in support activities for mining. Employment in mining has increased by 140,000 since a recent low in October 2009.
Employment in professional and technical services continued to trend up in July (+18,000). This industry has added 246,000 jobs since a recent low in March 2010. Employment in temporary help services changed little over the month and has shown little movement on net so far this year.
Elsewhere in the private sector, employment in construction, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and leisure and hospitality changed little over the month.
Government employment continued to trend down over the month (-37,000). Employment in state government decreased by 23,000, almost entirely due to a partial shutdown of the Minnesota state government. Employment in local government continued to wane over the month.
The complete July employment report is available online.
