Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press 

under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that 

the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. 

Statement of 

Erica L. Groshen 

Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 288,000 in June, and the 

unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 6.1 

percent. Job gains were widespread, led by employment growth in 

professional and business services, retail trade, food services, 

and health care. 

 Incorporating the revisions for April and May, which 

increased total nonfarm employment by 29,000 on net, monthly job 

gains have averaged 272,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 

months prior to June, employment growth averaged 201,000 per 

month. 

 In June, employment in professional and business services 

rose by 67,000; the prior 12-month average gain was 53,000 per 

month. Employment increased in June in management and technical 

consulting, architectural and engineering services, and computer 

systems design. Employment in temporary help services continued 
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to trend up (+10,000) and has grown by 216,000 over the past 

year. 

 Retail trade employment rose by 40,000 in June. Over the 

prior 12 months, retail added an average of 26,000 jobs per 

month. In June, job gains occurred in motor vehicle and parts 

dealers (+12,000), building material and garden supply stores 

(+8,000), and electronics and appliance stores (+7,000). 

 Employment in food services and drinking places rose by 

33,000 in June. Over the year, food services has added 314,000 

jobs. 

 Health care added 21,000 jobs in June, in line with its 

average monthly gain (+18,000) for the prior 12 months. In June, 

employment continued to trend up in ambulatory health care 

services (which includes doctors’ offices, outpatient care, and 

home health care). 

 Transportation and warehousing employment increased by 

17,000 in June. Over the prior 12 months, this industry had 

added an average of 11,000 jobs per month. Couriers and 

messengers contributed 6,000 jobs in June. 

 Financial activities added 17,000 jobs in June, with about 

half of the gain in insurance carriers and related activities 

(+9,000). Over the prior 12 months, financial activities added 

an average of 5,000 jobs per month. 
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 Manufacturing employment rose by 16,000 over the month and 

by 130,000 over the past year. Durable goods added 17,000 jobs 

in June and has accounted for almost all of the net job gain in 

manufacturing over the past 12 months. In June, employment rose 

in both motor vehicles and parts (+6,000) and in computer and 

peripheral equipment (+3,000). 

 Wholesale trade employment increased by 15,000 over the 

month and by 140,000 over the year. 

 Average hourly earnings of all employees on private 

nonfarm payrolls rose by 6 cents in June. Over the past 12 

months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.0 percent. From 

May 2013 to May 2014, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

Consumers (CPI-U) rose by 2.1 percent. 

Turning now to our survey of households, the unemployment 

rate declined by 0.2 percentage point in June to 6.1 percent, 

and the number of unemployed persons fell by 325,000 to 9.5 

million. Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate has 

declined by 1.4 percentage points, and the number of unemployed 

has decreased by 2.3 million. About half of the decline in 

unemployment over the past year occurred among the long-term 

unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more). 

 In June, the labor force participation rate was 62.8 

percent for the third month in a row. The employment-population 
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ratio, at 59.0 percent, was little changed over the month but 

was up 0.3 percentage point from a year ago. 

 Among the employed, the number of persons working part 

time for economic reasons rose by 275,000 to 7.5 million in 

June. (These individuals would have preferred full-time 

employment, but had their hours cut or were unable to find fulltime work.) The number of these workers is down over the year 

but has shown no clear trend in recent months. 

 Among persons who were neither working nor looking for 

work in June, 2.0 million were classified as marginally attached 

to the labor force, down by 554,000 from a year earlier. (These 

individuals had not 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, was 676,000 in June, down by 

351,000 from a year ago. 

 In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 288,000 in 

June, and the unemployment rate declined to 6.1 percent.