The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Employment Situation Summary–the unemployment report–for July. According to the release,
Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in July (-247,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
The 247,000 job loss number is improved from the June figure of 467,000.
The unemployment rate was 9.5% in June 2009. Numbers for July were better than expected. According to a Bloomberg report: “The jobless rate was projected to rise to 9.6 percent, and forecasts ranged from 9.2 percent to 9.8 percent.”
Some of the decline could be attributed to the fact that people–discouraged in their search for work–are leaving the workforce.
See the chart below–taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics– for a more historical look at the unemployment rate from 1999 to July 2009.
Series Id: LNS14000000 |
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| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | |
| 2000 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | |
| 2001 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.7 | |
| 2002 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 6.0 | |
| 2003 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.7 | |
| 2004 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.4 | |
| 2005 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | |
| 2006 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | |
| 2007 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.9 | |
| 2008 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 6.8 | 7.2 | |
| 2009 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 8.9 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.4 | ||||||
Some more details on unemployment:
- The number of unemployed persons was 14.5 million.
- Total jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007 is about 6.7 million, the biggest decline in any post-World War II economic slump.
- Employment in construction declined by 76,000 in July, about in line with the average for the past 3 months (-73,000).
- Factory payrolls fell 52,000–the fewest in a year.
- Service industries, which include banks, insurance companies, restaurants and retailers, subtracted 119,000 workers after losing 220,000 the month before. Retail payrolls decreased by 44,100.
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