On the household side of the data, the unemployment rate dropped from 5.9 to 5.4%, while the employment/population ratio rose by .4% to 58.4%.
The BLS Jobs Report for July was strong across the board; on top of a very strong report in June, the report indicates a rapidly recovering labor market — at least for right now. On the household side of the data, the unemployment rate dropped from 5.9 to 5.4%, while the employment/population ratio rose by.4% to 58.4%. The number of people working rose by 1 million. Declining unemployment was widespread across race, gender and education groups. Only one sign of weakness appeared in these numbers: labor force participation was fairly flat, and it actually declined among African Americans and high school graduates. Some of this flatness might reflect ongoing retirements among older Baby Boomers or perhaps some discouraged long-term unemployed workers, whose presence in the labor market fell from 4 to 3.4 million (and the numbers with permanent job loss also fell similarly). On the payroll side, jobs rose by 943,000 — somewhat above the high expectations of labor market analysts. Last month’s payroll growth was also revised upward (from 850,000 to 938,000) — so we have now had two consecutive months of payroll job growth of just under 1 million. The gains in employment were widespread across sectors.
