July unemployment hits 4.3 percent
According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in July. Meanwhile, nonfarm payroll employment increased to 114,000. Employment continued to rise in sectors like health care, construction, transportation and warehousing. Jobs decreased in information.
Construction employment continued trending upward in July (+25,000), which is in line with the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+19,000). Employment in specialty trade contractors continued its upward swing in July as well (+19,000).
Bureau data also shows employment trending up in transportation and warehousing (+14,000), with job gains among couriers and messengers (+11,000) and warehousing and storage (+11,000). "These gains were partially offset by a job loss in transit and ground passenger transportation (-11,000). Transportation and warehousing has added 119,000 jobs since a recent low in January of this year," the bureau writes.
The numbers reflect a dim outlook on the current state of the U.S. economy. As the AP sums it up: "Employers added just 114,000 jobs in July – 35% fewer than expected – and unemployment, now at 4.3%, is the highest since October 2021."
Click here to access BLS' full report for July 2024.
