The Labor Department June jobs report shows the us economy added 287,000 jobs last month, easily beating the median forecast that called for 175,000.
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The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 287,000 jobs in June, the most since last October.
U.S. employers added 287,000 jobs in June, a strong rebound from May’s unnerving plunge in hiring, delivering a fresh sign of USA economic strength, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The economy added jobs through a broad range of sectors, including hospitality, health care, business services and retail.
A portion of last month’s job gains reflected the end of a strike by workers at the telecommunications company Verizon, but we knew that would be a factor.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected 175,000 jobs to be added in June and the unemployment rate to go up to 4.8% – up from 4.7% a month ago.
Wages improved modestly, with average hourly earnings climbing 0.1 percent from a month earlier.
“Today’s report helps the case for more Fed tightening before too long – if strength is sustained – although officials are being ultra cautious amidst turmoil in global markets”, he said on Friday.
Unemployment rose slightly to 4.9% (up from 4.7% in May).
Even as the latest report was encouraging, economic indicators have been mixed, and uncertainties in the outlook have risen after Britain’s vote June 23 to leave the European Union.
To achieve “full employment”, which is a stated goal of Federal Reserve monetary policy, Bivens said that on a monthly basis the economy needs to create “somewhere between 250,000 to 280,000 jobs over the next twelve months”.
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The labor force participation rate (62.7 percent), and the employment-population ratio (59.6 percent) remained flat for June, while the number of involuntary part-time workers decreased by 587,000 to 5.8 million. A strong report at the beginning of June could certainly have triggered a move to increase rates at the June FOMC meeting, although there would have been concerns surrounding the United Kingdom referendum. Analysts had expected the economy to add some 170,000 jobs. And those fears persuaded the Federal Reserve last month to oppose any near-term increase in its benchmark interest rate. Those workers will be counted as “new” jobs under the Labor Department’s rules, so economists and traders will be looking for job gains over 135,000.
