Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2016-08-05

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. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 255,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and financial activities. Employment in mining continued to trend down. Incorporating revisions for May and June, which increased nonfarm payroll employment by 18,000, monthly job gains have averaged 190,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior to July, employment growth averaged 206,000 per month. Employment in professional and business services rose by 70,000 in July, and has risen by 550,000 over the year. Within the industry, job gains occurred over the month in computer systems design and related services (+8,000) and architectural and engineering services (+7,000).