Nonfarm payroll employment gained 372,000 jobs in June, after adding 384,000 jobs in May (revised), according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is close to the recent monthly average (+383,000) and is just 524,000 jobs (0.3%) behind the pre-pandemic level.
Unemployment rates change little
The unemployment rate remained at 3.6% in June, representing 5.9 million people experiencing job loss and inching closer to pre-pandemic status (3.5% and 5.7 million people).
Other than increases among Asian and teenage groups, unemployment rates held relatively steady across major worker groups:
- Adult men: 3.3% (3.4% in May)
- Adult women: 3.3% (3.4% in May)
- Teenagers: 11.0% (10.4% in May)
- Black: 5.8% (6.2% in May)
- Hispanic: 4.3% (4.3% in May)
- Asian: 3.0% (2.4% in May)
- White: 3.3% (3.2% in May)
Pandemic-related job loss inches up
The number of people on temporary layoffs was 827,000 in June, and those experiencing permanent job loss totaled 1.3 million.
Long-term unemployment (jobless for 27 weeks or more) also came in at 1.3 million (22.6% of total unemployed), only 215,000 above February 2020’s count. The labor force participation rate changed little at 62.2%.
Only 7.1% of employees teleworked because of the pandemic in June, down from 7.4%. The number of people unable to work because of pandemic-related business closures rose from 1.8 million to 2.1 million. There were 610,000 people who couldn’t look for work during the month because of the pandemic, up from 455,000.
Steady job growth across major industries
With the addition of 74,000 jobs, professional and business services was the industry with the most gains in June, followed closely by leisure and hospitality, which added 67,000 jobs over the month.
Other notable job gains included:
- Health care (+57,000)
- Transportation and warehousing (+36,000)
- Manufacturing (+29,000)
- Information (+25,000)
- Social assistance (+21,000)
Average hourly earnings for private nonfarm employees went up by $0.10 to reach $32.08 in June. This average has gone up 5.1% over the past 12 months.
