Transmission of material in this statement is embargoed until 

8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, August 5, 2022.

Statement of

William W. Beach

Commissioner

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Friday, August 5, 2022

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 528,000 in July, 

and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent. Job growth 

was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, 

professional and business services, and health care.

In July, both total nonfarm employment and the unemployment 

rate returned to their February 2020 pre-pandemic levels. 

Private-sector employment is 629,000 higher than in February 

2020, although several sectors have yet to recover. Government 

employment is 597,000 lower than its pre-pandemic level.

In July, employment growth continued in leisure and 

hospitality (+96,000), with most of the gain in food services 

and drinking places (+74,000). Employment in leisure and 

hospitality is down by 1.2 million, or 7.1 percent, from its 

February 2020 level.

Employment in professional and business services increased 

by 89,000 in July and is 986,000 above its February 2020 level. 
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In July, job gains were widespread within the industry, 

including in management of companies and enterprises (+13,000),

architectural and engineering services (+13,000), management and 

technical consulting services (+12,000), and scientific research 

and development services (+10,000).

Health care added 70,000 jobs in July, with gains in 

ambulatory health care services (+47,000), hospitals (+13,000),

and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000). Employment 

in health care is 78,000 below its February 2020 level.

Employment in government rose by 57,000 in July but is 

below its February 2020 level by 597,000. Over the month, 

employment increased by 37,000 in local government, mostly in 

education (+27,000). Employment in local government is below its 

February 2020 level by 555,000, or 3.8 percent, with the losses 

split between the education and non-education components.

Employment in construction increased by 32,000 in July, 

mostly in specialty trade contractors (+22,000). Construction 

employment is 82,000 higher than in February 2020.

Manufacturing added 30,000 jobs in July, with most of the 

gain in durable goods industries (+21,000). Manufacturing 

employment is 41,000 higher than in February 2020.

In July, social assistance added 27,000 jobs, including a 

gain of 19,000 in individual and family services. Employment in 

social assistance is 53,000 below its February 2020 level.
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Retail trade employment rose by 22,000 in July, with growth 

in food and beverage stores (+9,000) and general merchandise 

stores (+8,000). Employment in retail trade is 208,000 higher

than in February 2020.

Transportation and warehousing added 21,000 jobs in July, 

with gains in air transportation (+7,000) and support activities 

for transportation (+6,000). Employment in transportation and 

warehousing is 745,000 higher than in February 2020.

Information employment continued its upward trend in July 

(+13,000) and is 117,000 higher than in February 2020.

Employment in financial activities continued to trend up in 

July (+13,000) and is 95,000 above its level in February 2020.

In July, mining employment increased by 7,000, with gains 

in support activities for mining (+4,000) and in oil and gas 

extraction (+2,000). Since a recent low in February 2021, mining 

employment has grown by 96,000.

Employment showed little change over the month in wholesale 

trade and in other services.

In July, the average workweek for all private-sector 

workers was 34.6 hours for the fifth month in a row. The average 

workweek for manufacturing was unchanged at 40.4 hours.

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls increased by 15 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $32.27 in 
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July. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have 

increased by 5.2 percent.

Turning to the labor market indicators from the household 

survey, both the unemployment rate, at 3.5 percent in July, and 

the number of unemployed people, at 5.7 million, edged down over 

the month. Both measures have returned to their February 2020 

levels.

In July, the unemployment rates for adult women (3.1 

percent) and Whites (3.1 percent) declined. The jobless rates 

for adult men (3.2 percent), teenagers (11.5 percent), Blacks 

(6.0 percent), Asians (2.6 percent), and Hispanics (3.9 percent) 

showed little change.

Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers, 

at 1.2 million in July, continued to trend down over the month 

and is 129,000 lower than in February 2020. The number of people 

on temporary layoff, at 791,000 in July, changed little over the 

month and has essentially returned to its pre-pandemic level.

By duration of unemployment, the number of people 

unemployed for 27 weeks or more declined by 269,000 over the 

month to 1.1 million and has returned to its February 2020 

level. These long-term unemployed accounted for 18.9 percent of 

all unemployed people in July.

The labor force participation rate, at 62.1 percent, and 

the employment-population ratio, at 60.0 percent, changed little 
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in July. Both measures are below their February 2020 levels, by 

1.3 percentage points and 1.2 percentage points, respectively.

In July, the number of people working part time for 

economic reasons rose by 303,000 to 3.9 million, reflecting an 

increase in the number of people whose hours were cut due to 

slack work or business conditions. The number of people working 

part time for economic reasons is below its February 2020 level 

of 4.4 million.

The number of people not in the labor force who currently 

want a job was little changed at 5.9 million in July. This 

measure remains above its February 2020 level of 5.0 million.

Among those who were not in the labor force but wanted a 

job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor 

force, at 1.5 million, was about unchanged in July. (People who 

are marginally attached to the labor force had not actively 

looked for work in the 4 weeks prior to the survey but wanted a 

job, were available for work, and had looked for a job within 

the last 12 months.) The number of discouraged workers, a subset 

of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were 

available for them, changed little at 424,000 in July.

Looking at the supplemental pandemic-related measures from 

the household survey (these supplemental data are not seasonally 

adjusted), the share of employed people who teleworked because 

of the pandemic was 7.1 percent in July, unchanged over the 
6

month. These data refer only to employed people who teleworked

or worked at home for pay at some point in the last 4 weeks 

specifically because of the pandemic; they do not include all 

instances of telework.

In July, the number of people who reported that they had 

been unable to work because their employer closed or lost 

business due to the pandemic was 2.2 million, little changed

from June. (These individuals did not work at all or worked 

fewer hours at some point in the last 4 weeks due to the 

pandemic.) Among those who reported in July that they were 

unable to work because of pandemic-related closures or lost 

business, 25.0 percent received at least some pay from their 

employer for the hours not worked, also little changed from 

June.

Among those not in the labor force in July, 548,000 people 

were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, little 

changed from June. (To be counted as unemployed, by definition, 

individuals must either be actively searching for work or on 

temporary layoff.)

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 528,000

in July, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent.