Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2019-07-05

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. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 224,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.7 percent. Over the month, notable job gains occurred in professional and business services, in health care, and in transportation and warehousing. Incorporating revisions for April and May, which decreased employment by 11,000, monthly job gains averaged 172,000 in the first half of 2019. This is below the average monthly job gain of 223,000 for 2018. In June, professional and business services added 51,000 jobs, following little employment change in May (+24,000). Thus far in 2019, employment growth in professional and business services has averaged 35,000 per month, compared with an average of 47,000 per month in 2018.