July 2, 2015

June 2015 Jobs Report


Unemployment Rate: 5.3 percent

Unemployed Americans: 8.3 million


Employment and Unemployment

  1. The Department of Labor reported an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent for June, a decline of 0.2 percentage point from May. It reported an increase of 223,000 nonfarm jobs over last month. Employment for April was revised down from 221,000 to 187,000 jobs created; and May was revised down from 280,000 to 254,000.   
  2. Unemployment in June among those ages 16-19 was 18.1 percent, up 0.2 percentage point. Among those 20-24, the unemployment rate was 9.9 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from May.
  3. The number of long-term unemployed, those unemployed for 27 weeks or more, was 2.1 million, accounting for 25 percent of the unemployed.
  4. The “real” unemployment or U-6 rate is 10.5 percent, down 0.3 percentage point from May. This is the total percentage of unemployed and underemployed workers.
  5. The “real” number of unemployed Americans is 16.7 million. These are people who are unemployed (8.3 million), want work but have stopped searching for a job (1.9 million), or are working part time because they cannot find full time employment (6.5 million).
  6. In June, employment grew by 64,000 in professional and business services; 40,000 in health care; 20,000 in the financial sector and 33,000 in retail trade. There was little to no change in employment in construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, information and government. Employment in mining fell for the sixth month in a row, with a decline of 4,000.

Labor Force Participation 

  1. The labor force participation rate is 62.6 percent, a decline of 0.3 percentage point from last month and the lowest level in nearly 38 years. Since April 2014, the participation rate had been stuck in a narrow range of 62.7 and 62.9 percent. Prior to the recession, the rate stood at 66 percent. 
  2. If the labor force participation rate were the same as when President Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be 9.7 percent.
  3. The share of American adults with jobs in June was 59.3 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from last month. This is about four percentage points below its pre-recession peak.

Wages

  1. While the economy has added an average of 244,600 jobs a month over the last 12 months, hiring has failed to translate into wage growth. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at $24.95. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by only 2 percent.
  2. June was the 71st straight month that year-over-year hourly wage growth has been below 2.5 percent. Prior to the recession, wage growth routinely exceeded three percent.

Issue Tag: Economy