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 

William J. Wiatrowski 

Acting Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Friday, August 4, 2017

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 209,000 in July, and the 

unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, was little changed. Job gains 

occurred in food services and drinking places, professional and 

business services, and health care. Employment growth has 

averaged 184,000 per month thus far this year, in line with the 

average monthly gain in 2016 (+187,000). 

In July, employment in food services and drinking places 

rose by 53,000. The industry has added 313,000 jobs over the 

year. 

Professional and business services added 49,000 jobs in 

July. Thus far this year, monthly job gains in the industry have

averaged 47,000, in line with average monthly employment growth 

in 2016 (+45,000). 

Health care employment grew by 39,000 over the month. Job 

gains occurred in ambulatory health care services (+30,000) and 
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hospitals (+7,000). Over the past year, health care has added 

327,000 jobs.

Mining employment was essentially unchanged in July. From

its recent low in October 2016 through June, the industry had 

added an average of 7,000 jobs per month. 

Employment in other major industries--construction, 

manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and 

warehousing, information, financial activities, and government--

showed little change over the month. 

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm 

payrolls increased by 9 cents to $26.36 in July. Over the past 

12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent. 

From June 2016 to June 2017, the Consumer Price Index for All 

Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 1.6 percent (on a 

seasonally adjusted basis). 

The major labor market indicators from the survey of 

households changed little in July. Both the number of unemployed 

people, at 7.0 million, and the unemployment rate, at 4.3

percent, were about unchanged over the month. After declining 

earlier this year, the unemployment rate has changed little in 

recent months. 

Among the unemployed in July, 1.8 million had been 

searching for work for 27 weeks or longer. These long-term 

unemployed accounted for 25.9 percent of the total unemployed. 
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The labor force participation rate, at 62.9 percent, 

changed little in July and has shown little movement on net over 

the past year. The employment-population ratio, at 60.2 percent 

in July, also was little changed over the month but is up by 0.4 

percentage point over the year. 

Among the employed, the number working part time for 

economic reasons, also referred to as involuntary part-time 

workers, was about unchanged at 5.3 million in July. 

Among those neither working nor looking for work in July, 

1.6 million people were marginally attached to the labor force, 

321,000 lower than a year earlier. Discouraged workers, a subset 

of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were 

available for them, numbered 536,000 in July, little different 

from the prior year. (People who were marginally attached to the 

labor force 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.) 

In summary, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 

in July, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.3 

percent.