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 

Keith Hall 

Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

before the 

Joint Economic Committee 

UNITED STATES CONGRESS 

Friday, August 6, 2010

Madam Chair and Members of the Committee: 

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the employment and 

unemployment data we released this morning. 

Nonfarm payroll employment declined by 131,000 in July, and 

the unemployment rate remained at 9.5 percent. The decrease in 

employment largely reflects continued cuts in the number of 

temporary workers previously hired for Census 2010. Private 

sector employment edged up (+71,000) over the month. Thus far 

in 2010, private sector employment has risen by 630,000, 

although nearly two-thirds of that gain occurred in March and 

April. 
2

In July, employment in the Federal government fell for the 

second month in a row. The number of temporary Census 2010 

workers decreased by 143,000, following a decline of 225,000 in 

June. This leaves 196,000 temporary decennial census workers on 

the payroll. 

Within the private sector, employment gains continued in 

manufacturing, health care, and mining. Manufacturing 

employment rose by 36,000. Most of the gain occurred in motor 

vehicles and parts manufacturing (+21,000), as some plants 

deviated from their normal practice of shutting down in July for 

retooling. Motor vehicles had added 32,000 jobs during the 

first half of the year. Employment in fabricated metals 

increased by 9,000 over the month. The manufacturing workweek 

rose by one-tenth of an hour in July, after falling by half an 

hour in June. 

Health care employment grew by 27,000 over the month. 

Since the recession began in December 2007, health care has 

added 665,000 jobs. Employment in mining rose by 7,000 in July, 

largely in support activities. 

Employment in temporary help services was nearly unchanged 

for the second month in a row. Job gains had averaged 45,000 

per month from October 2009 through May. 

Construction employment was little changed in July 

(-11,000). A strike in the industry reduced payrolls by 10,000. 
3

Financial sector employment continued to trend down over the 

month (-17,000), though the pace of job loss has been slower 

this year. Thus far in 2010, monthly job declines have averaged 

12,000, compared with 29,000 in 2009. Employment in most other 

private sector industries was little changed in July. 

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls rose by 4 cents in July to $22.59. Over the past 12 

months, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.8 percent. From 

June 2009 to June 2010, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

Consumers (CPI-U) rose by 1.1 percent. 

Turning now to data from our survey of households, most key 

labor force measures were essentially unchanged in July. The 

jobless rate remained at 9.5 percent, and the number of 

unemployed held at 14.6 million. The rate has declined from 9.9 

percent in April, reflecting decreasing labor force 

participation. The participation rate had risen during the 

first 4 months of this year, to 65.2 percent in April, but has 

now returned to 64.6 percent, its December 2009 level. 

Among the employed, the number of individuals working part 

time who preferred full-time work was nearly unchanged over the 

month at 8.5 million. Since April, the number of such workers 

has declined by 623,000. However, the level remains 3.9 million 

above that of December 2007 when the recession began. 
4

In summary, payroll employment declined by 131,000 in July, 

largely reflecting a decrease in the number of temporary census 

workers (-143,000). Small job gains continued in the private 

sector. The unemployment rate held at 9.5 percent. 

My colleagues and I now would be glad to answer your 

questions.