Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2006-07-07

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 increased by 121,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.6 percent. During the second quarter of this year, payroll employment growth averaged 108,000 per month, down from an average monthly gain of 169,000 over the 12-month period ending in March. Average hourly earnings increased by 8 cents in June. In the service-providing sector of the economy, health care employment continued to trend up over the month, with an increase of 19,000. Job gains occurred in hospitals, doctors' offices, and nursing and residential care facilities. Over the past year, 278,000 jobs have been added in health care. Employment in professional and business services also continued to expand in June (+25,000).