Both employment and unemployment were essentially unchanged in June. The Nation's unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, a level that has held fairly consistently since the beginning of the year.

At 86.2 million, total employment (as measured by the monthly sample survey of households) edged up from May to June and over the last 2 months has risen by 400,000. This increase followed a 6-month period of virtually no change.

Nonagricultural payroll employment (as measured by the monthly survey of business establishments) was about unchanged in June. In recent months, however, total payroll jobs have rebounded from the depressed levels encountered during last winter's period of energy-related shortages.

Unemployment

Unemployment usually rises sharply between May and June due to the influx of a large number of young persons into the labor market following the close of the school year. The increase this June was about in line with those of recent years, and, after taking this into account through seasonal adjustment, the number of persons unemployed was virtually unchanged at 4.8 million. The overall jobless rate continued at the 5.2-percent plateau, a position it has occupied with little exception since January following a rise from last October's low of 4.6 percent.

The overall stability in the unemployment situation in June was reflected in the rates for nearly all of the major labor force groups. Jobless rates for household heads (3.1 percent), adult men (3.5 percent), adult women (5.1 percent), and teenagers (15.6 percent) were the same or nearly the same as in May. The rate for married men, however, which had declined from 2.5 percent in April to 2.2 percent in May, rose to 2.6 percent in June. Unemployment rates for white and Negro workers, at 4.8 and 8.8 percent respectively, were not statistically different from their May levels. Jobless rates for both full- and part-time workers also were essentially unchanged from May. The rate for workers covered by State unemployment insurance programs, at 3.4 percent in June, has been virtually the same since February.

The unemployment rate for Vietnam-era veterans 20 to 34 years old, at 5.2 percent, was about the same in June as in the previous 5 months and a year ago. The more recently discharged veterans (those 20 to 24 years old) continued to experience greater job market difficulties than their nonveteran counterparts; their jobless rate, at 10.1 percent, remained substantially higher than that of young nonveterans (7.5 percent). On the other hand, unemployment rates for older veterans4.4 percent for those aged 25 to 29 and 2.6 percent for those 30 to 34-continued to approximate those for nonveterans of the same ages.

Unemployment data by industry and occupation showed few changes in June with the exception of increases in the unemployment rates for blue-collar factory workers—both of which returned approximately to the same levels which have prevailed since February-while there was a decline in the rate for service workers.

Although the overall unemployment situation was virtually unchanged, there was an increase in the number of persons who lost or left their last jobs. These increases were largely offset by a decrease in the number of unemployed reentrants to the labor force.

Civilian labor force and employment

The civilian labor force rose by 240,000 in June to 90.9 million (seasonally adjusted), following an even larger increase from April to May. These gains were in sharp contrast to the labor force stagnation over the January-April period. Since January, the number of adult women in the labor force has increased by 800,000, but this increase has been partially offset by declines of about 130,000 and 300,000, respectively, among adult men and teenagers. Since June 1973, the civilian labor force has risen by 2.1 million.

Total employment, at 86.2 million (seasonally adjusted), was up by 400,000 from April. In keeping with the pattern since the beginning of the year, the 2-month expansion was dominated by adult women, although there was a small increase for adult men as well. Teenage employment, by contrast, was about unchanged between April and June at a level that was about a quarter of a million lower than in January.

The essentially unchanged picture in total employment from May to June masked several underlying movements among the major occupational categories. White-collar and service worker employment rose, but these gains were largely offset by declines among bluecollar and farm workers. The blue-collar worker reduction represented a return to the April level following a large gain in May.

Industry payroll employment

Nonfarm payroll employment rose about in line with seasonal expectations in June and, after adjustment for seasonality, was essentially unchanged at 77.1 million. Since November 1973, when a 2-year period of strong growth in payroll employment was brought to a temporary halt, payroll jobs have expanded by 430,000.

Employment in both the goods-producing and serviceproducing sectors did not change appreciably in June. In the goods sector, seasonally adjusted employment in contract construction declined by 50,000, partly because of increased strike activity, and manufacturing employment was little changed. Job gains in the serviceproducing sector were largely confined to the service industry and State and local governments. Federal government employment was off by 45,000 (largely due to end of fiscal-year retirements), erasing the gains posted during the first half of 1974.

Hours of work

The average workweek of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonagricultural payrolls also rose in accordance with normal May-to-June movements and, after seasonal adjustment, remained unchanged at

36.8 hours. However, total manufacturing hours and overtime hours each declined by 0.2 hour, to 40.1 and 3.3 hours, respectively. Since last June, average weekly hours for production or nonsupervisory workers have decreased 0.3 hour; in manufacturing, the over-the-year declines were even greater—a decrease of 0.5 hour in both the average workweek and overtime hours.

Hourly and weekly earnings

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonagricultural payrolls rose 0.7 percent in June, seasonally adjusted. Since June 1973, hourly earnings have risen by 7.8 percent. Average weekly earnings also increased by 0.7 percent in June and were up 6.9 percent over the past year.

Both before and after adjustment for seasonality, average hourly earnings rose by 3 cents in June to $4.17. Since June 1973, hourly earnings have increased by 30 cents. Weekly earnings averaged $154.71 in June, an increase of $3.19 from May and $9.97 from June a year ago.

The hourly earnings index

The Hourly Earnings Index-earnings adjusted for overtime in manufacturing, seasonality, and the effects of changes in the proportion of workers in high-wage and low-wage industries-was 157.7 (1967-100) in June, 1.1 percent higher than in May. The Index was 8.1 percent above June a year ago. All industry divisions recorded gains over the past 12 months, ranging from 6.1 percent in transportation and public utilities to 10.5 percent in mining. During the 12-month period ended in May, the Hourly Earnings Index in dollars of constant purchasing power declined 2.6 percent.

Slow employment growth in the first half of 1974 was accompanied by unusually small labor force increases, a circumstance which helped to stabilize the unemployment rate. Details of these developments plus analyses of data on persons not in the labor force and on minority groups follow.

Trends in employment, labor force, and unemployment

Total employment, which had grown very rapidly from mid-1971 until late 1973, showed only small increases in the first 2 quarters of 1974. At 86.0 million (seasonally adjusted), the employment level for the second quarter was equivalent to 58.0 percent of the

civilian noninstitutional population, about the same percentage as in the previous quarter. This ratio of employment to the population had been rising steadily from the second quarter of 1971 through the end of 1973.

A sharp slowdown in labor force growth materialized soon after employment gains began to taper off. In fact, the normal growth of the population was not translated into any expansion of the labor force from the first to the second quarter. Consequently, the labor force participation rate, which had been rising steadily and had reached the highest point in 2 decades in the first quarter, declined slightly to 61.1 percent in the second quarter.