The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: JUNE 2008


Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend down in June (-62,000), while the unemployment rate held at 5.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, and employment services, while health care and mining added jobs. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged in June, at 8.5 million, and the unemployment rate held at 5.5 percent. A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 7.0 million, and the jobless rate was
4.6 percent.

The unemployment rate for Hispanics (7.7 percent) increased over the month,while the rate for adult men (5.1 percent) continued to trend up. Jobless rates for adult women (4.7 percent), teenagers (18.1 percent), whites (4.9 per-cent), and blacks (9.2 percent) showed little or no change in June. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted.

Among the unemployed, the number of persons who had lost their last job was essentially unchanged at 4.4 million in June, but has risen by 952,000 over the past 12 months. The numbers of unemployed reentrants and new entrants to the labor force were little changed in June; both groups had increased sharply in May.

Following a large increase in May, the number of newly unemployed--those jobless fewer than 5 weeks--decreased by 532,000 in June. The number of persons unemployed 5 to 14 weeks rose by 530,000 over the month. The number of long-term unemployed (those persons jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged in June at 1.6 million; this group accounted for 18.4 percent of the unemployed.

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force (154.4 million) and the labor force participation rate (66.1 percent) were little changed in June; in the prior month the civilian labor force had increased sharply. Both total employment (145.9 million)and the employment-population ratio (62.4 percent) were essentially unchanged in June. The employment-population ratio was 0.6 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

The number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons, at 5.4 million in June, was about unchanged over the month, but was up by 1.1 million over the past 12 months. These individuals indicated that they were working part time because their hours had been cut back or they were unable to find full-time jobs.

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

In June, about 1.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force, little different from a year earlier. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 420,000 discouraged workers in June, little changed from a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.1 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in June had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend down in June (-62,000). Since peaking in December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 438,000. In June, job losses continued in construction, manufacturing, and employment services. Health care and mining added jobs over the month.

Employment in construction fell by 43,000 in June, as job losses continued across the industry. Since its peak in September 2006, construction employment has fallen by 528,000.

In June, manufacturing employment fell by 33,000. Job losses were widespread throughout the industry, with notable declines in fabricated metal products (-9,000), printing and related support activities (-6,000), and wood products (-6,000). Employment in motor vehicles and parts edged up by 6,000 over the month, largely reflecting the return of workers from strikes and related shut downs. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing has lost 353,000 jobs.