Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2011-07-08

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 was essentially unchanged in June (+18,000), and the unemployment rate, at 9.2 percent, also changed little. Over the past 2 months, job growth has slowed markedly. Employment rose by an average of 215,000 per month from February through April of this year, compared with an average of 22,000 for May and June. Mining employment continued to expand in June, with a job gain in support activities for mining (+7,000). Employment in professional and technical services also continued to increase (+24,000). The industry has added 245,000 jobs since reaching a recent low in March 2010. Leisure and hospitality employment edged up over the month (+34,000). Employment in manufacturing was flat in May and June, following 6 months of gains that totaled 164,000.