The U.S. unemployment rate backed off to 6.2 percent in July 2003, according to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unemployment rate peaked at 6.4 percent in June, the highest since April 1994.

Summary Figures

• 9.1 million workers were unemployed in July. That's down from 9.4 million in June, the most since December 1992.
• The number of workers who were unemployed for less than 5 weeks decreased by 279,000.
• 2 million unemployed workers had been looking for work for 27 weeks or more in July, the same as in June.

Employment Declines

• Manufacturing employment fell by 71,000 in July. Workers in this industry have suffered significant job losses since July 2000.
• Employment in computer and electronic products was down by 11,000.
• Employment in fabricated metal products declined by 8,000.
• 9,000 apparel and 7,000 textile mill workers lost their jobs.
• Transportation and warehousing employment declined by 16,000. Air transportation accounted for 9,000 of the total. The industry has lost 136,000 jobs since March 2001.
• Employment continued to decline in the wholesale trade.
• Food store employment fell by 12,000, for a total of 60,000 over the year.
• Employment continued to spiral downward in telecommunications and publishing. Both have lost jobs continuously for over 2 years.
• Professional and technical services lost 20,000 jobs. 12,000 were in computer systems design and related services.
• Government employment dropped only slightly in July, but it was the fifth consecutive decline. 115,000 government workers have lost their jobs during the downward trend.

Employment Gains

• Administrative and support services gained 85,000 jobs.
• Employment in temporary help increased for the third month in a row. The industry has added 122,000 jobs since April.
• Building and dwelling services gained 11,000 jobs.
• Leisure and hospitality added 13,000 jobs, 11,000 of which were in accommodations.
• Financial job gains were averaging 16,000 per month from August 2002 to May 2003, but have slowed to around 7,000 since.
• Employment in the construction sector has also slowed since May.
• Health care and social assistance were essentially unchanged.

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