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                        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.

     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,
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.