June Employment Numbers Outpace Expectations

Economists were expecting June nonfarm payroll data to show an increase of 165,000, jobs but the final numbers came in much better than expected.

The Breakdown

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 224,000 in June, while the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.7%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The agency cited strong job gains in professional and business services, health care, transpiration, and warehousing.

The labor force participation rate was little changed in June at 62.9%, as was the number of long-term unemployed people at 1.4 million.

The Analysis

Federal Reserve officials continue to keep a close eye on the job numbers, CNBC reported.

Some experts are expecting the central bank to lower its benchmark interest rate regardless of what Friday's report shows.

Revisions

In conjunction with June's payroll data, the BLS revised May employment numbers down from positive 75,000 to 72,000, while the April number was also lowered from 224,000 to 216,000.

This means employment gains for the two months were 11,000 less than previously reported. The revision implies an average of 171,000 job gains over the past three months.

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