62.1%: Labor Force Participation Falls in July, As 239,000 More Americans Drop Out of Labor Force – By Susan Jones (CNS News) / Aug 5, 2022
(CNSNews.com) – Non-farm payrolls added a whopping 528,000 in July, more than double the estimate of 250,000; and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent in July from 3.6 percent in June.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. “Both total nonfarm employment and the unemployment rate have returned to their February 2020 pre-pandemic levels,” BLS noted.
But on the downside, the number of Americans not in the labor force — no job and not looking for one — climbed above the 100,000,000 mark again, settling at 100,051,000 in July. That’s a 239,000 increase from June; and it follows an increase of 510,000 from May to June, when the number rose to 99,812,000.
The “not in the labor force” category includes retired persons, students, those taking care of children or other family members, and others who are neither working nor seeking work.
