Unemployment report for July shows 55K new health care jobs

Health care added 55,000 jobs in July as the national unemployment rate crept up to 4.3%, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor.

The jobless rate grew by 0.2% for the month as 352,000 unemployed people added to the total of 7.2 million, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers. A year ago, there were 5.9 million people out of work with a national jobless rate of 3.5%.

The total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 114,000 in July, with construction and transportation and warehousing adding jobs. But the national figure did not reach the average monthly gain of 215,000 over the last 12 months, according to BLS.

In health care, home health care services added 21,600 jobs, while hospitals hired 19,500 workers, to lead the sector. Nursing and residential care facilities grew by 9,200 workers., while outpatient care centers added 2,500 workers.

Offices of physicians, medical and diagnostic laboratories, offices of other health practitioners and other ambulatory health care services all grew by less than 1,000 workers; offices of dentists dipped by 100 jobs, according to the BLS figures.

President responds

The White House issued a statement from President Joe Biden, who said the economy has created nearly 16 million jobs since he and Vice President Kamala Harris took office.

“Today’s report shows employment is growing more gradually at a time when inflation has declined significantly,” the president’s statement said. “Business investment remains strong thanks in part to our investing in America agenda, which is creating good-paying jobs in communities that have been left behind. There’s more to do, but we’re making progress growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.”

The president said his administration will continue fighting “price gouging, capping prescription drug costs, and building more homes.” He jabbed at Republicans for “siding with special interests at the expense of the middle class.”

Is the U.S. in recession?

Despite optimism from the White House, news outlets reported the July unemployment figures met criteria of the “Sahm Rule,” named for economist Claudia Sahm, who worked for the Federal Reserve. She posited that “if the three-month average of the unemployment rate is ½ percentage point or more above its low over the prior (12) months, then the U.S. is in the early months of a recession.” Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Sahm said it is never time for the Fed to panic, but that the national leader on monetary policy should lower interest rates.

The U.S. economy still is working through a number of workforce disruptions – COVID-19, labor shortages and increased immigration, Sahm said. If there is just less demand for workers, workers don’t have paychecks and they can’t spend money, she said on Bloomberg Television.

Barron’s noted the Sahm Rule “has been triggered before every U.S. recession since the 1970s.” Barron’s reported Sahm has said this time could be different because the July 2024 unemployment generally was due to a larger supply of workers as hiring continues, not due to layoffs and negative monthly payroll numbers.

Other sectors

Construction added 25,000 jobs, led by 19,000 new jobs in specialty trade contractors. In transportation and warehousing, the couriers and messengers and warehousing and storage categories each added 11,000 jobs, while transit and ground passenger transportation lost 11,000 workers.

Social assistance grew by 9,000 workers, slower than the average monthly gain of 23,000 in the last year. Governments added 17,000 jobs, with BLS noting growth has slowed compared with larger job gains in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

Hurricane? No problem

The BLS report included a notice about Hurricane Beryl, which landed on Texas on July 8. “Hurricane Beryl had no discernible effect on the national employment and unemployment data for July,” the report said.