Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation — 2006-08-04

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 113,000 in July, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.8 percent. The increase in payroll employment was in line with the average monthly gain for the second quarter of this year (+112,000), but was down from the average monthly gain for the 12-month period ending in March (+169,000). Average hourly earnings increased by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, in July. In the service-providing sector, employment in professional and business services rose by 43,000 over the month. Job gains occurred in a number of component industries, including architectural and engineering services, computer systems design services, and management and technical consulting services. Employment was flat over the month in temporary help services.