Economy: Employment Situation Report for July 2021

The Employment Situation Report for July 2021 was released by The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning:

Nonfarm Payrolls (month-to-month change)
Predicted: +850,000
Actual: +943,000

U-3 Unemployment Rate (Headline)
Actual: 5.4%
Previous Month: 5.9%
12 Months Previous: 10.2%

U-6 Unemployment Rate*
Actual: 9.2%
Previous Month: 9.8%
12 Months Previous: 16.5%

Average Hourly Earnings (month-to-month change)
Predicted: +0.3%
Actual: +0.428% (+$0.11)

Average Hourly Earnings (year-on-year change)
Predicted: +3.5%
Actual: +4.702% (+$1.16)

Average Weekly Earnings (month-to-month change)
Actual: +0.429% (+$3.77)

Average Weekly Earnings (year-on-year change)
Actual: +5.318% (+$44.61)

Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: 61.7%
Previous Month: 61.6%
12 Months Previous: 61.5%

Average Workweek
Predicted: 34.7 hours
Actual: 34.8 hours

Economist, academics, central bankers and investors pay very close attention to the monthly Employment Situation report as it offers penetrating insight as to the current and near-future state of the overall U.S. economy. If a) Americans are earning more money and b) the economy is creating new jobs, this typically translates to more money being pumped into the economy (and vice versa.)

The "predicted" figure is what economists were expecting, while the "actual" is the true or real figure.

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From Today's Report:

"...In July, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 11 cents to $30.54, following increases in the prior 3 months. Average hourly earnings for private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees also rose by 11 cents in July to $25.83. The data for recent months suggest that the rising demand for labor associated with the recovery from the pandemic may have put upward pressure on wages. However, because average hourly earnings vary widely across industries, the large employment fluctuations since February 2020 complicate the analysis of recent trends in average hourly earnings..."

"...The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised up by 31,000, from +583,000 to +614,000, and the change for June was revised up by 88,000, from +850,000 to +938,000. With these revisions, employment in May and June combined is 119,000 higher than previously reported..."

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CHART: U-3 (Headline) Unemployment Rate
July 2021 Update

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CHART: Nonfarm Payroll Employment
July 2021 Update

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* = The U-6 Unemployment Rate is defined as:

"Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force."

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