The Employment Situation: June 2002 — 2002-07-05

The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in June, at 5.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment was little changed for the fourth month in a row, and none of the major industry groups showed any signifi- cant change. Average hourly earnings grew by 6 cents in June, following 5 months of small increases. The number of unemployed persons (8.4 million) and the unemployment rate (5.9 percent) were essentially unchanged in June for the second month in a row. Both measures, however, were higher in the second quar- ter of this year than in the first quarter. (See table A.) In June, jobless rates for adult men (5.4 percent), adult women (5.1 percent), teenagers (17.6 percent), whites (5.2 percent), blacks (10.7 percent), and Hispanics (7.4 percent) showed little or no change from the previous month.