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Nonfarm payroll employment inched up by 73,000 in July, coming in below expectations. Meanwhile, June and May’s job gains were revised downward by a combined 258,000 to 14,000 and 19,000, respectively. The 12-month average stands at 128,000 job gains per month. The unemployment rate increased 0.1% to 4.2%, while the labor force participation rate edged down 0.1% to 62.2%.

Manufacturing employment slipped by 11,000, and the collective job losses in June and May of 14,000 were revised upward by 8,000 jobs to a decrease of 26,000 jobs. Durable goods manufacturing employment stayed the same in July, while nondurable goods employment declined by 11,000. The most significant gain in manufacturing in July occurred in fabricated metal product manufacturing, which added 1,900 jobs over the month. Meanwhile, the most significant losses occurred in beverage, tobacco, and leather and allied product manufacturing, which shed 3,500 jobs over the month, followed by machinery manufacturing, which lost 3,200 jobs.

The employment-population ratio declined 0.1% to 59.6% and is down 0.4 percentage points from a year ago. Employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons increased by 219,000 to 4.70 million and are up from 4.56 million in July 2024. Native-born employment is up 383,000 over the month and 1,998,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign-born employment is down 467,000 over the month and 237,000 over the year.

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm payroll employees rose 0.3%, or 12 cents, reaching $36.44. Over the past year, earnings have grown 3.9%. The average workweek for all employees inched up by 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours but stayed the same for manufacturing employees at 40.1 hours.