US economy adds 224,000 jobs in June
WASHINGTON (CNN) – The US economy added 224,000 jobs in June, a strong backdrop to the labor market after a disappointing May.
Unemployment increased to 3.7%, highest level since March 2019, but still historically low.
The number significantly strikes the expectations of analysts, who had expected a move on jobs due to business security around high trading tensions, as well as a lack of housing market.
In addition to the positive story, 335,000 people entered the work force in June – significantly more than usual – which may have been what pushed unemployment up slightly. It is a remarkable achievement for an economy that has sucked up workers in 1[ads1]06 straight months now, and an indication that people still find reasons to return to work.
The figure looks more like the more robust 2018 monthly job gets on average than the lower average so far in 2019, which prevents concerns about a sharp slowdown, even though indicators of business sentiment have become negative.
Wages rose 3.1% from the previous year, somewhat lower than the forecast, but still reasonably strong.
Biggest gains came in healthcare and professional and business services, although production went into a robust 17,000 jobs after four months of little change – a surprising turnaround for an industry that has flagged with higher commodity costs due to tariffs and the downturn in the world trade.
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