US payrolls increased by 287,000 in June as manufacturers and retailers boosted hiring, confirming the economy has regained speed.
ADVERTISEMENTThere was a huge jump in the number of jobs created in the United States last month.
Payrolls increased by 287,000 in June. But for May they were revised down to just 11,000, rather than the previously reported 38,000.
Economists had forecast an increase of 175,000 jobs for June.
The unemployment rate rose from 4.7 percent to 4.9 percent of the workforce as more people looked for employment, a sign of confidence in the jobs market.
One piece of good news today: Unemployment is low. Imagine how much worse everything would be in a depression. https://t.co/W27dzHW9q5
— Christopher Mims (@mims) July 8, 2016
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, will be encouraged by the strong rebound but will also note that wage growth remains sluggish.
Average hourly earnings increased only slightly by two cents or 0.1 percent in June. The year-on-year gain in earnings rose to 2.6 percent after advancing 2.5 percent in May.
The feeling among economists is that the Fed’s policymakers are not likely to put up interest rates this year, particularly because of the uncertainty created by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Recent data on consumer spending and housing suggests that economic growth accelerated from the first-quarter’s anemic 1.1 percent annualised rate.
The Atlanta Fed is currently forecasting the US economy growing at a 2.4 percent pace in the second quarter.
Sector by sector
Manufacturing employment increased 14,000 last month after shedding 16,000 jobs in May.
The retail sector added 29,900 jobs.
The leisure and hospitality sector gained 59,000 jobs.
Construction payrolls were unchanged after two months of declines.
The return of 35,100 Verizon telecoms workers boosted information sector employment last month. They were excluded from May’s payroll count because they were on a month-long strike.
