New unemployment figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) may signal an economic slowdown. According to the latest job report, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 4.2 percent in July. The number of people unemployed rose by 352,000 to 7.2 million, while nonfarm employment rose to 114,000.

Job increases were seen in health care, construction, transportation and warehousing. 
The BLS noted that Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the central coast of Texas on July 8, 2024, during the reference periods for both the household and establishment surveys. This had no discernible effect on the national employment and unemployment data for July, and the response rates for the two surveys were within normal ranges. 

BLS noted these measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.5 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 5.9 million. 

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men was 4.0 percent, while unemployment for Whites increased to 3.8 percent in July. The jobless rate for adult women was 3.8 percent in July, while the jobless rate for teenagers was 12.4 percent. Black women saw a jobless rate of 6.3 percent while the jobless rate for Asians was 3.7 percent. The Hispanic jobless rate was 3.7 percent. 

Temporary layoffs increased by 249,000 to 1.1 million in July, while the number of permanent job losers changed a little to 1.7 million. Long-term unemployed, those without a job for 27 weeks or more, remained steady at 1.5 million, up from 1.2 million last year. BLS noted that long-term unemployment accounted for 21.6 percent of all unemployed people in July. 

The labor force participation rate also remained steady at 62.7 percent, on par with last year. The employment-population ratio changed slightly, at 60.0 percent in July, but it has been down by 0.4 percentage points over the year. 

The number of people employed part-time for economic reasons rose by 346,000 to 4.6 million in July. This figure represents individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, but were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. 

The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job increased by 366,000 to 5.6 million, largely offsetting a decline in the previous month. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.

The average hourly earnings in July for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 8 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $35.07. BLS noted that over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.6 percent. In July, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and non-supervisory employees increased by 9 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $30.14. 

Meanwhile, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.1 hours to 34.2 hours in July. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged down by 0.2 hours to 39.9 hours, and overtime edged down by 0.1 hours to 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hours to 33.7 hours.