By Manuel Gutierrez, Consulting Economist to NKBA

 

The 372,000 jobs added were close to the average of the previous three months, allaying fears of an imminent recession.

 

  •   Mirroring the pattern of recent months, Professional & Business Services leads with most job created (+74,000), followed by Health Care (+57,000) and Hospitality (+56,000).
  •   Among the major economic sectors, only Government saw a reduction in jobs, based totally on the Federal level.
  •   Within our industry, the number of Interior Designers remained unchanged at 52,700 jobs, its highest historical level.
  •   June’s gains bring the economy within just over 500,000 jobs of pre-pandemic levels.
  •   The unemployment rate remains the same at 3.6 percent, identical for both males and females.
  •   Hourly wages are 6.4 percent higher than a year ago, lagging the 8.6 percent increase in prices.
  •   On separate but related news, weekly unemployment claims rose by just 4,000 last week and remain near historical lows.