This marks the third consecutive month of little employment change for this industry. Employment in the industry remains below its February 2020 level by 369,000, or 2.2 percent.
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- JUNE 2023
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 in June, and the unemployment
rate changed little at 3.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Employment continued to trend up in government, health care, social assistance, and
construction.
Household Survey Data
Both the unemployment rate, at 3.6 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 6.0
million, changed little in June. The unemployment rate has ranged from 3.4 percent to 3.7
percent since March 2022. (See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for Whites declined to 3.1 percent
in June. The jobless rates for adult men (3.4 percent), adult women (3.1 percent),
teenagers (11.0 percent), Blacks (6.0 percent), Asians (3.2 percent), and Hispanics
(4.3 percent) showed little change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.1 million,
changed little in June and accounted for 18.5 percent of the total unemployed.
(See table A-12.)
In June, the labor force participation rate was 62.6 percent for the fourth consecutive
month, and the employment-population ratio, at 60.3 percent, was unchanged over the month.
(See table A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons increased by 452,000 to
4.2 million in June, partially reflecting an increase in the number of persons whose
hours were cut due to slack work or business conditions. Persons employed part time
for economic reasons are individuals who 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 persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was 5.4 million
in June, little changed from the prior month. 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 persons marginally
attached to the labor force was little changed at 1.4 million in June. 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, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were
available for them, decreased by 112,000 to 310,000 in June. (See Summary table A.)
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 in June, as employment in
government, health care, social assistance, and construction continued to trend up.
Nonfarm employment has grown by an average of 278,000 per month over the first 6 months
of 2023, lower than the average of 399,000 per month in 2022. (See table B-1.)
Employment in government increased by 60,000 in June. Employment continued to trend up
in state government (+27,000) and local government (+32,000). Overall, government has
added an average of 63,000 jobs per month thus far in 2023, more than twice the average
of 23,000 per month in 2022. However, government employment is below its pre-pandemic
February 2020 level by 161,000, or 0.7 percent.
Health care added 41,000 jobs in June. Job growth occurred in hospitals (+15,000),
nursing and residential care facilities (+12,000), and home health care services
(+9,000). Offices of dentists lost 7,000 jobs. Health care has added an average of
42,000 jobs per month thus far this year, similar to the average gain of 46,000 per
month in 2022.
Social assistance added 24,000 jobs in June, mostly in individual and family services
(+18,000). Job growth in social assistance has averaged 22,000 per month thus far in
2023, in line with the average of 19,000 per month in 2022.
Employment in construction continued to trend up in June (+23,000). Employment in the
industry has increased by an average of 15,000 per month thus far this year, compared
with an average of 22,000 per month in 2022. In June, employment in residential specialty
trade contractors continued to trend up (+10,000).
Employment in professional and business services changed little in June (+21,000).
Monthly job growth in the industry has averaged 40,000 thus far in 2023, down from
62,000 per month in 2022. Employment in professional, scientific, and technical
services continued to trend up over the month (+23,000).
In June, employment in leisure and hospitality was little changed (+21,000). This
marks the third consecutive month of little employment change for this industry.
Employment in the industry remains below its February 2020 level by 369,000, or 2.2
percent.
Retail trade employment changed little in June (-11,000). Employment continued to
decline in building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (-10,000) and
in furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliance retailers (-5,000). Motor
vehicle and parts dealers added 6,000 jobs. Overall, employment in retail trade has
shown little net change over the year.
Employment in transportation and warehousing changed little in June (-7,000) and has
shown no clear trend in recent months. Over the month, employment edged down in couriers
and messengers (-7,000) and in warehousing and storage (-7,000), while air transportation
added 3,000 jobs.
Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including
mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; information;
financial activities; and other services.
In June, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by
12 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $33.58. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings
have increased by 4.4 percent. In June, average hourly earnings of private-sector production
and nonsupervisory employees rose by 11 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $28.83.
(See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to
34.4 hours in June. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged at 40.1 hours, and
overtime was unchanged at 3.0 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory
employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.8 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for April was revised down by 77,000, from
+294,000 to +217,000, and the change for May was revised down by 33,000, from +339,000 to
+306,000. With these revisions, employment in April and May combined is 110,000 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.)
Employment Situation Summary Table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted
Employment Situation Summary Table B. Establishment data, seasonally adjusted
Employment Situation Frequently Asked Questions
Employment Situation Technical Note
Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age
Table A-2. Employment status of the civilian population by race, sex, and age
Table A-3. Employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age
Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment
Table A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not seasonally adjusted
Table A-8. Employed persons by class of worker and part-time status
Table A-9. Selected employment indicators
Table A-10. Selected unemployment indicators, seasonally adjusted
Table A-11. Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment
Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment
Table A-13. Employed and unemployed persons by occupation, not seasonally adjusted
Table A-14. Unemployed persons by industry and class of worker, not seasonally adjusted
Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
Table A-16. Persons not in the labor force and multiple jobholders by sex, not seasonally adjusted
Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail
Table B-5. Employment of women on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted