Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2002-07-05

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. The unemployment rate was 5.9 percent and nonfarm payroll employment stood at 130.7 million in June, little changed from May. The labor market has been in a holding pattern in recent months, with nonfarm payroll employment essentially flat since February and no significant change in the unemployment rate since April. Although the number of unemployed has not changed significantly in the past 2 months, long-term unemployment has continued to climb. There were 8.4 million unemployed persons in June, about the same number as in the prior month, but approximately 2 million more than a year earlier. The unemployment rate, at 5.9 percent, was little changed over the month.