Highlights of the July 2010 Employment Report

The economy lost a net 131,000 jobs in July, as large numbers of temporary Census jobs (-143,000) continue to wind down. Private employment increased by a modest 71,000.
The unemployment rate in July remained at 9.5% as labor force participation remained stable. The black unemployment rate edged up slightly to 15.6% (from 15.4%) as the participation rate fell to 61.5% (from 61.9%). The unemployment rate for black men decreased slightly (from 17.4% to 16.7%), as the rate for black women increased (from 11.8% to 12.9%). The unemployment rates for whites (steady at 8.6%) and Latinos (12.1% from 12.4%) also showed little change in July. Rates of teen unemployment (23.5%), particularly among African-American (40.6%) and Latino (35%) youth, also remain elevated as the Senate failed to pass summer jobs legislation. The rate of underemployment (including the unemployed, marginally attached and those working part-time for economic reasons) was also unchanged at 16.5%.

The ranks of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 6.6 million (from 6.8 million) or 44.9% of all unemployed (from 45.5%). This persistently high rate of long-term unemployed along with the weak growth in private employment, and slowed economic growth over the last quarter indicates the tenuous state of the economy.

Manufacturing (+36,000), education and health services (+30,000) and transportation and warehousing (+12,200) all displayed modest growth in July as financial activities (-17,000), construction (-11,000), and state (-10,000) and local (-38,000) governments continued to shed jobs. To read more about the crisis in state and local government employment click here. Professional and business services also experienced negative net job growth for the first time since September 2009.