Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2005-07-08

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 146,000 in June, and the unemployment rate, at 5.0 percent, continued its recent downward trend. Payroll employment has increased by 2.1 million over the year. In June, job growth continued in several industries, with notable gains in professional and business services and in health care. Manufacturing employment declined over the month. Professional and business services added 56,000 jobs in June and nearly half a million over the year. Employment continued to trend upward in several component industries, including architectural and engineering services and computer systems design and related services. Temporary help services employment was little changed over the month; job growth in the industry has slowed since last fall. Employment in health care continued to expand in June with a gain of 25,000.