Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2015-07-02

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 223,000 in June, and the unemployment rate declined to 5.3 percent. Employment increased in professional and business services, health care, retail trade, financial activities, and in transportation and warehousing. Incorporating revisions for April and May, which decreased nonfarm employment by 60,000, monthly job gains have averaged 221,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior to June, employment growth averaged 250,000 per month. Employment in professional and business services rose by 64,000 in June, about in line with the average monthly gain of 57,000 over the prior 12 months. In June, employment continued to trend up in temporary help services (+20,000), architectural and engineering services (+4,000), and computer systems design and related services (+4,000).