The Employment Situation: July 1996 — 1996-08-02

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in July, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.4 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The number of payroll jobs rose by 193,000 over the month, led by a gain in the retail trade industry. Average hourly earnings declined 2 cents in July, following a sharp rise in the prior month. The number of unemployed persons totaled 7.3 million in July, and the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent. July jobless rates for the major worker groups--adult men (4.7 percent), adult women (4.9 percent), teenagers (16.4 percent), whites (4.7 percent), blacks (10.5 percent), and Hispanics (9.0 percent)--showed little change from the prior month.