August 7, 2020

July 2020 Jobs Report

Unemployment Rate: 10.2 percent

Jobs Created: 1.8 million

Employment and Unemployment          

  1. The Department of Labor bases monthly jobs reports on a survey of businesses and a survey of households. The survey data relate to the pay period or calendar week containing the 12th day of the month. The report generally will not reflect labor market changes near the end of the month.

  2. As of mid-July, at least 20 states had paused their reopening plans or set new restrictions on certain types of non-essential businesses to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

  3. DOL reported the unemployment rate fell 0.9 percentage point to 10.2% in July.

  4. Nonfarm jobs increased by 1.8 million in July.

  5. The department revised the change in nonfarm jobs for May and June up by 17,000 jobs on net.

  6. The U-6 unemployment rate, a broader measure that includes part-time and discouraged workers, dropped 1.5 percentage points to 16.5% in July.

Labor Force Participation

  1. The labor force participation rate, the share of people employed or looking for work, ticked down 0.1 percentage point to 61.4%.

Wages

  1. In July, average hourly earnings for all employees in private nonfarm jobs rose by $0.07 to $29.39.

Issue Tags: COVID-19, Labor