Total US jobs numbers fell by by 125,000 in June, and the unemployment rate edged down to 9.5 per cent, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The decline in payroll employment reflected a decrease (-225,000) in the number of temporary employees working on Census 2010. Private-sector payroll employment edged up by 83,000. The broad measure of unemployment fell to 16.5 per cent.

Both the number of unemployed persons, at 14.6 million, and the unemployment rate, at 9.5 per cent, edged down in June.  Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult women (7.8 per cent) declined, while the rates for adult men (9.9 per cent), teenagers (25.7 per cent), whites (8.6 per cent), blacks (15.4 per cent), and Hispanics (12.4 per cent) showed little or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.7 per cent, not seasonally adjusted.

In June, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was unchanged at 6.8 million. These individuals made up 45.5 per cent of unemployed persons. The civilian labor force participation rate fell by 0.3 per centage point in June to 64.7 per cent. The employment-population ratio, at 58.5 per cent, edged down over the month.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers), at 8.6 million, was little changed over the month but was down by 525,000 over the past 2 months. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

In June, about 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, an increase of 415,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.2 million discouraged workers in June, up by 414,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.4 million persons marginally attached to the labor force had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

The broad measure of unemployment fell to 16.5% in June from 16.6% in May.

June saw a loss of 125,000 jobs, but the jobless rate fell to 9.5%. The CNBC news team parses the data:

Construction employment decreased by 22,000 in June, with the largest decline in nonresidential specialty trade contracting. On net, construction employment has shown little change over the last 4 months.

Employment in other private-sector industries, including wholesale trade, retail trade, information, and financial activities showed little change in June.

Government employment fell by 208,000 in June, driven by the loss of 225,000 temporary workers hired for Census 2010. Employment in both state and local governments was little changed over the month.

President Obama makes remarks on the June jobs report and the economy:

In June, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour to 34.1 hours. The manufacturing workweek for all employees decreased by 0.5 hour to 40.0 hours; this followed an increase of 0.4 hour in May. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.4 hours in June.

David Greenlaw, Morgan Stanley commented: "The household survey showed an unusually large decline in the participation rate which may have been related to seasonal adjustment problems around the end of the school year. The labor force plummeted 652,000 in June (reflecting a much smaller than typical gain of 900,000 prior to seasonal adjustment) and employment fell 301,000. Because this appears to be due to seasonal noise, we expect to see a rebound in the jobless rate next month… One of the most worrisome aspects of the report was the extent of the weakness in the manufacturing sector… Employment showed a smaller than anticipated rise but the big surprise was a plunge in the average workweek (from 40.5 to 40.0 hrs). Our translation of the labor market data to industrial production implies a 0.6% drop in the key manufacturing component - - the lowest reading in more than a year."

Dan Greenhaus of Miller Tabak commented: "Broadly speaking, this is a negative report. Not only was private hiring less than we expected, but incomes and hours both declined. Both had been improving and while one month does not a trend make, this report does not present an encouraging mix of data. Beneath the headline, construction jobs predictably fell while manufacturing job growth, up for six months, slowed to a crawl. Temporary help services continue to be a bright spot, increasing another 21,000 and up 379,000 since September of last year. The bottom line is that job growth is ongoing, but the pace of growth is not nearly enough to meaningfully impact the unemployment rate in a sustainable manner."