The Employment Situation: July 1995 — 1995-08-04

Both unemployment and nonfarm payroll employment were essentially unchanged in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in July and has shown very little movement in recent months. The overall weakness in payroll employment reflected a sharp drop in manufacturing jobs that was offset by small gains in a number of the service-producing industries. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents and the factory workweek continued its descent. The number of unemployed persons totaled 7.6 million in July, and the unemployment rate was 5.7 percent. Both measures have shown little change since April. (See table A-1.) Jobless rates showed little or no change in July for adult men (4.7 percent), adult women (5.1 percent), whites (4.8 percent), blacks (11.1 percent), and Hispanics (8.8 percent). In contrast, the rate for teenagers rose to 18.2 percent.