August 05, 2003 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Unemployment duration as of July 2003

In July, the number of persons unemployed for less than 5 weeks decreased by 279,000, to 2.73 million, representing 30.3 percent of the total unemployed.

[Chart data—TXT]

There were 2.0 million unemployed persons in July who had been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer, about the same level as in June. They represented 21.7 percent of the total unemployed. The average (mean) unemployment duration was 19.3 weeks; the median duration was 10.0 weeks. 

The unemployment rate edged down in July. The unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in July; the number of unemployed persons was 9.1 million. Both measures edged down over the month, largely offsetting increases in June. 

These data are from the Current Population Survey, a monthly survey of households which provides data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, and persons not in the labor force. Numbers in this article are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "The Employment Situation: July 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL. 03-403.  

 

Related TED article:

• Payroll employment in July