WASHINGTON — With the release of the June 2015 Employment Situation Report today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez says there are five things you should know about its numbers:
The recovery continues: The economy added 223,000 jobs in June. Businesses have now created 12.8 million jobs over the last 64 consecutive months of private-sector job growth.
Unemployment is down: The unemployment rate dipped to 5.3 percent, its lowest level since April 2008.
People are unemployed for shorter periods of time: The number of long-term unemployed fell by 381,000, the second largest month-to-month decline on record. The long-term unemployed now account for just over a quarter (25.8 percent) of the overall unemployed, compared to a Great Recession high of 45.5 percent in April 2010.
Proposed overtime rule would help boost wages: Average hourly earnings were unchanged from last month, with a modest 2.0 percent increase over the year. Wages clearly represent one of our most pressing challenges. To help more people get a fair day’s pay for an honest day’s work, President Obama this week announced a proposed change in the rules governing time-and-a-half overtime pay that would restore overtime protections to nearly 5 million salaried workers.
We need a full team: To accelerate this recovery and maximize our economic strength, we need contributions from everyone. With youth unemployment still above 12 percent, the Labor Department recently invested $22 million in seven cities to expand employment and training opportunities for underserved young people. Unemployment for people with disabilities has shown marked improvement: 9.3 percent today, down from a peak of 16.9 percent four years ago. As we prepare to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we must do everything possible to continue creating and expanding opportunity for people with disabilities. We don’t have a person to spare in America. We need everyone off the bench and in the game.
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