July jobs report: Unemployment rate steady at 4.3%

Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The July jobs report by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, released Friday, showed little change from June's figures.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 in July. The unemployment rate was steady at 4.3 percent. As in June, the greatest hiring increases were seen in the food service, professional and business, and health care sectors.

The number of unemployed was 7 million, with long-term unemployed, those out of work for 27 or more weeks, was 1.8 million. Those figures were similar to statistics recorded in June.

The labor force was 62.9 percent of the population.

The average workweek for all employees on private non-farm payrolls was unchanged at 34.5 hours. The manufacturing workweek likewise held steady at 40.9 hours, with overtime remaining at 3.3 percent. The average workweek for production and non-supervisory employees on private non-farm payrolls was 33.7 hours, the same as in the past four months.

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls rose in July by nine cents to $26.36 per hour. Since the start of 2017, average hourly earnings have risen by 65 cents, or 2.5 percent.

President Donald Trump, who before his election accused former President Barack Obama of manipulating the Labor Department's statistics, sent a Twitter message Friday regarding the July statistics reading, "Excellent Jobs Numbers just released -- and I have only just begun."