Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in June (+18,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment in most major private-sector industries changed little over the month. Government employment continued to trend down.The following graph shows the employment population ratio, the participation rate, and the unemployment rate.
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The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for April was revised from +232,000 to +217,000, and the change for May was revised from +54,000 to +25,000.
Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.The unemployment rate increased to 9.2% (red line).
The Labor Force Participation Rate declined to 64.1% in June (blue line). This is the percentage of the working age population in the labor force. The participation rate is well below the 66% to 67% rate that was normal over the last 20 years, although some of the decline is due to the aging population.
The Employment-Population ratio declined to 58.2% in June (black line).
The second graph shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms aligned at maximum job losses. The dotted line is ex-Census hiring.The current employment recession is by far the worst recession since WWII in percentage terms, and 2nd worst in terms of the unemployment rate (only the early '80s recession with a peak of 10.8 percent was worse).
This was very weak and well below expectations for payroll jobs, and the unemployment rate was higher than expected (both worse). A terrible report. I'll have much more soon ...
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