07.07.2017
On Friday July 7 the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its June 2017 report on the employment situation indicating that the economy is healthy. The report is compiled based on the findings of two surveys: the Household Survey and the Establishment Survey. The Household Survey looks at the unemployment rate of major worker groups and the labor participation rate while the Establishment Survey reports on nonfarm payroll employment by major sectors duration of the average workweek and average hourly earnings.
The unemployment rate was at 4.4% only 0.1 percentage points up from May and a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from January. The number of unemployed persons was at 7.0 million. The labor force participation rate—at 62.8% in June—changed little and has not shown a clear trend in the past year.
Nonfarm payroll employment saw an increase of 222000 with employment growth in the past year averaging 180000 per month.
The average workweek for all private nonfarm payroll employees was at 34.5 hours up 0.1 hours from May. Average hourly earnings for the same demographic rose by 4¢ to $26.25 a continuation of the trend that saw wages rise by 63¢ in the past year. Despite the tightening labor market there is no sign that wage growth will accelerate.
The next release covering the July 2017 employment situation is scheduled for Friday August 4 2017.
The full release is available below:
