July 2011 Employment Report

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Headline numbers from the July employment report generally improved from June’s upwardly revised job-creation number but remained ho-hum. The July report showed the U.S. economy added 117,000 nonfarm jobs, and that the unemployment rate ticked down by 0.1 percentage point, to 9.1 percent. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised from +25,000 to +53,000, and the change for June was revised from +18,000 to +46,000.

For once, job gains occurred across a broader spectrum of supersectors, including manufacturing, the trades, professional & business services, and education & health services. State and local governments decreased by 37,000 -- largely a function of the temporary shutdown of Minnesota’s state government.

Other details include:

• The labor force participation rate fell by 0.2 percentage point, to 63.9 percent (lowest since January 1984), accounting for the unemployment rate drop
• The actual number of employed fell by 38,000, according to the household survey
• Unemployment rose by 156,000
• Those dropping out of the labor force rose by 374,000
• The civilian population rose by 182,000 while the labor force declined by 193,000
• Persons working part time for economic reasons dropped by 146,000 but pool of full-timers also shrank by 48,000
• The average weekly workweek was unchanged at 34.3 hours
• Average private hourly earnings increased by $0.10 (2.3 percent from a year earlier) 

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