Current Events > Hiring rebounds in June as U.S. creates 224,000 jobs, unemployment rises to 3.7%

(+) Yeah! (+)

The numbers: The U.S. added a robust 224,000 new jobs in June, rebounding from a lull in the prior month that raised fresh worries about the economy and stoked expectations on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon.

The increase in new jobs easily beat the 170,000 forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch. One caveat: Employment was padded by a 33,000 increase in government jobs that could be tied to the upcoming 2020 Census.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, edged up to 3.7% from 3.6% as more than 300,000 people entered the labor force in search of work. Unemployment is still near a 50-year low, however.

The average wage paid to American workers rose 6 cents to $27.90 an hour. The 12-month rate of hourly wage gains was unchanged at 3.1%.

Wage growth has tapered off recently despite the tightest labor market in decades, suggesting most workers have gained little power in wresting higher pay from employers.

Stocks have surged to record highs in the past few weeks on relaxed trade tensions with China and hopes the Fed would lower interest rates, but now a rate cut might be in doubt.

What happened: The increase in hiring was widespread. Professional firms hired 51,000 people, health-care providers added 35,000 jobs and transportation and warehouse companies boosted payrolls by 24,000.

Some more good news: Construction companies hired 21,000 workers and manufacturers increased employment by 17,000. Both industries grown more slowly this year and added very few workers.

Retailers had no such luck: They shed another 6,000 jobs to continue a recent string of declines.

Employment gains for May and April, meanwhile, were revised down by a combined 11,000. The initial 75,000 increase in May that so worried Wall Street was revised 72,000.

The good June report doesnt hide the fact that hiring has softened, however. The economy added an average of 172,000 new jobs a month in the first half of 2019, compared to a heady 223,000 pace in 2018.

Big picture: Even though the economy has slowed, the strongest labor market in decades is likely to extend whats already the longest expansion on record. The U.S. has grown for 121 straight months.

The biggest danger to the U.S. is that trade tensions with China could hurt the economies of both countries and cause a global downturn. Businesses have complained for months that trade disputes have hampered their ability to plan and invest.

The U.S. and China agreed last week to delay pending tariffs and return to negotiations given the high stakes involved.
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Good stuff, now all to do is raise wages, and stop pampering the uber wealthy.

Low unemployment means little if people gotta work like 2 jobs with no benefits or protections.
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Cooked books.

clearaflagrantj posted...

Cooked books.

*tips tinfoil fedora*
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So, about that July rate cut...
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clearaflagrantj posted...

Cooked books.

How's the job hunt going?

Doom_Art posted...

Good stuff, now all to do is raise wages, and stop pampering the uber wealthy.

Low unemployment means little if people gotta work like 2 jobs with no benefits or protections.

Yeah wage growth got above 3% and seemed it would keep rising but now has plateaued above 3%.
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Thank you Trump
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Godnorgosh posted...

Not necessarily "cooked," just highly misleading given who is actually considered in the unemployment rate. People no longer looking for work are not factored in.

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm

Here's all the different rates. U-6 has been about 7.2% recently.

Godnorgosh posted...

If someone is employed but earns a low wage, is living paycheck to paycheck, is not getting raises or benefits, and has no job security, we would tend to think that that person isn't doing so great. But these elements aren't touched on in articles like this which focus solely on the unemployment rate.

They mention the wage growth in the article, but no they wouldn't highlight a specific person or small group of people since this is a overview of the whole employment situation.
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Godnorgosh posted...

SK8T3R215 posted...

They mention the wage growth in the article, but no they wouldn't highlight a specific person or small group of people since this is a overview of the whole employment situation.

They mention specifically a lack of wage growth, which is good, but beyond that don't go into much detail.

Lack of benefits and job security aren't just affecting a small group of people. These things affect people in fields ranging from fast food and retail to highly skilled contract labor and academia.

I mean you can go and look for those type of articles then, sorry this isn't one of those this is a summary of the report from an investment news website.
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