Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2021-07-02

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 850,000 in June, and the unemployment rate changed little at 5.9 percent. Notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, public and private education, professional and business services, retail trade, and other services. Substantial job losses related to the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic first occurred in March (-1.7 million) and April (-20.7 million) of 2020. As economic activity resumed, employment increased by 12.6 million from May through November but declined again in December (-306,000) following a surge in the number of coronavirus cases. Job growth restarted in January of this year, and nonfarm payroll employment has increased by 3.3 million over the past 6 months as the number of vaccinations has increased, the number of coronavirus cases has fallen, and pandemic-related restrictions have been relaxed. Overall, nonfarm payroll employment is up by 15.6 million since April 2020.