Nonfarm Payrolls Give Market a Small Boost

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced changes in May's employment Friday morning. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.3 percent. Nonfarm payrolls for the month were 0.9 percent better than expected at 215,000. However, April's figure was revised from 288,000 to 282,000. The headline beat surprised many investors after the ADP employment change missed analyst estimates on Wednesday. The private sector was much stronger than expected: 216,000 jobs were added versus the 210,000 estimate. Manufacturing jobs were inline at 10,000, but the figure was down from May's results. The average workweek was 34.5 hours. Year over year, the average hourly earnings rate is $24.38.