US Employers Added 372K Jobs In June

It’s not all bad in the economy. The government reported that U.S. employers added 372,000 workers to their payrolls during June, more than the 265,000 that economists were expecting.

That put the unemployment rate at 3.6%, the same as in May and just a hair above the prepandemic low of 3.5%, which itself was the lowest unemployment rate since the 1960s. 

The government said that notable job gains occurred in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and health care. 

Meanwhile, the underemployment rate hit an all-time low. 

The rate—which includes the unemployed, discouraged workers and those who are working part time because their hours were reduced or they were unable to find full time jobs—hit 6.7%, the lowest level on record going back to 1994. 

The government also reported that average hourly earnings increased by 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $32.08. On a year-over-year basis, wages were up by 5.1%. 

Inflation Still Public Enemy No. 1  

While fears of a recession are rising, there hasn’t been evidence of one yet in the jobs market.  

Still, while jobs are usually the No. 1 thing people focus on when measuring the health of the economy, today, that’s not the case.

Inflation remains public enemy No. 1. But even regarding inflation, this hot-but-not-too-hot jobs report might actually be a good thing. It gives the Federal Reserve room to hike rates, and hopefully bring inflation down without severely damaging the jobs market.  

The next Fed interest rate decision is on July 27. 

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