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 

Philip L. Rones 

Acting Commissioner 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Friday, August 4, 2006 

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 113,000 in 

July, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.8 percent. The 

increase in payroll employment was in line with the average 

monthly gain for the second quarter of this year 

(+112,000), but was down from the average monthly gain for 

the 12-month period ending in March (+169,000). Average 

hourly earnings increased by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, in 

July. 

 In the service-providing sector, employment in 

professional and business services rose by 43,000 over the 

month. Job gains occurred in a number of component 

industries, including architectural and engineering 

services, computer systems design services, and management 

and technical consulting services. Employment was flat 

over the month in temporary help services. 
2

 Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 

42,000 in July, mainly due to continued job growth in food 

services and drinking places (+29,000). Health care 

employment also continued on an upward trend, with an 

increase of 23,000. Job gains occurred in hospitals and in 

nursing and residential care facilities. 

 The number of jobs in retail trade was unchanged in 

July; employment in general merchandise stores declined by 

8,000 over the month and has fallen by 74,000 since August 

2005. Wholesale trade employment, which generally has been 

expanding since the summer of 2003, held steady in July. 

The job totals in other major service-providing industries 

showed little or no change over the month. 

 In the goods-producing sector of the economy, 

employment in mining continued to trend upward in July 

(+8,000), largely because of continued job growth in oil 

and gas extraction and in related support activities. 

Construction employment was little changed for the fifth 

month in a row; over the period, job growth in 

nonresidential construction has been offset by job losses 

in residential and heavy construction. 

 Manufacturing employment edged down by 15,000 in July, 

largely offsetting an increase in June. Over the month, 
3

manufacturing hours increased by 0.2 hour, while factory 

overtime was down by 0.1 hour. 

 Average hourly earnings for private production and 

nonsupervisory workers rose by 7 cents (0.4 percent) for 

the second month in a row. Over the 12 months ending in 

July, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.8 percent. 

 Looking at some of the major labor market indicators 

from our household survey, the number of unemployed persons 

edged up in July, and the unemployment rate increased from 

4.6 to 4.8 percent. The number of persons unemployed for 

27 weeks or more returned to 1.3 million, following a dip 

in June. Total employment (144.3 million) and the 

employment-population ratio (63.0 percent) essentially held 

steady in July. The labor force participation rate was 

unchanged at 66.2 percent. 

 In summary, payroll employment rose by 113,000 in 

July, and the unemployment rate increased to 4.8 percent.