US jobless rate increases to 4.1 percent in June

The country also added 206,000 jobs in June.

In a statement, the bureau said: "Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 206,000 in June, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in government, health care, social assistance, and construction."

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.1 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 6.8 million, changed little in June. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.6 percent and the number of unemployed people was 6.0 million.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women (3.7 percent) and Asians (4.1 percent) increased in June.

The jobless rates for adult men (3.8 percent),teenagers (12.1 percent), Whites (3.5 percent), Blacks (6.3 percent), and Hispanics (4.9 percent) showed little or no change over the month.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose by 166,000 to 1.5 million in June. This measure is up from 1.1 million a year earlier. The long-term unemployed accounted for 22.2 percent of all unemployed people in June.

The labour force participation rate changed little at 62.6 percent in June, and the employment-population ratio held at 60.1 percent. These measures showed little or no change over the year.

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.2 million, changed little in June. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, 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 labour force who currently want a job declined by 483,000 to 5.2 million in June.

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.

Among those not in the labour force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labour force, at 1.5 million, was essentially unchanged in June.

These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, edged down to 365,000 in June.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 206,000 in June, similar to the average monthly gain of 220,000 over the prior 12 months. In June, job gains occurred in government, health care, social assistance, and construction.