US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in July (+73,000) and has shown little change
since April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. The unemployment rate,
at 4.2 percent, also changed little in July. Employment continued to trend up in health care
and in social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs.
This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures
labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment
survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information
about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical
Note.
Household Survey Data
Both the unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.2 million,
changed little in July. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0 percent to
4.2 percent since May 2024. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.0 percent), adult women
(3.7 percent), teenagers (15.2 percent), Whites (3.7 percent), Blacks (7.2 percent), Asians
(3.9 percent), and Hispanics (5.0 percent) showed little change in July. (See tables A-1, A-2,
and A-3.)
Among the unemployed, the number of new entrants increased by 275,000 in July to 985,000. New
entrants are unemployed people who are looking for their first job. (See table A-11.)
In July, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by
179,000 to 1.8 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 24.9 percent of all unemployed
people. (See table A-12.)
The labor force participation rate, at 62.2 percent, changed little in July but has declined
by 0.5 percentage point over the year. The employment-population ratio, at 59.6 percent, also
changed little over the month but was down by 0.4 percentage point over the year. (See table
A-1.)
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.7 million, changed little in
July. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time
because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job changed little in July at
6.2 million but was up by 568,000 over the year. These individuals were not counted as unemployed
because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were
unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached
to the labor force changed little at 1.7 million in July. These individuals wanted and were
available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked
for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers decreased by
212,000 in July to 425,000, largely offsetting an increase in the prior month. Discouraged
workers are a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for
them. (See Summary table A.)
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in July (+73,000) and has shown little change
since April. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in health care and in social
assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs. (See table B-1.)
In July, health care added 55,000 jobs, above the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior
12 months. Over the month, job gains occurred in ambulatory health care services (+34,000) and
hospitals (+16,000).
Social assistance employment continued to trend up in July (+18,000), reflecting continued job
growth in individual and family services (+21,000).
Federal government employment continued to decline in July (-12,000) and is down by 84,000
since reaching a peak in January. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay
are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining,
quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail
trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and
business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents, or
0.3 percent, to $36.44 in July. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 3.9 percent. In July, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and
nonsupervisory employees rose by 8 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $31.34. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.3
hours in July. In manufacturing, the average workweek held at 40.1 hours, and overtime edged
down to 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private
nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours in July. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)
Revisions for May and June were larger than normal. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment
for May was revised down by 125,000, from +144,000 to +19,000, and the change for June was revised
down by 133,000, from +147,000 to +14,000. With these revisions, employment in May and June
combined is 258,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional
reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and
from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)
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The Employment Situation for August is scheduled to be released on Friday, September 5, 2025,
at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
