Friday, July 5, 2013

Today's Jobs Report

The employment report for June, which came out this morning, presented a more encouraging figure than we'd seen in recent months. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 195,000 jobs in June, which was up from an average of 155,000 jobs over the previous three months, and up slightly from the 182,000 over the previous 12 months. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6 percent.

Investors will be watching these figures even more closely now, ever since Fed chairman Ben Bernanke indicated he would taper off the Fed's bond purchases once the unemployment rate reached 7.0 percent. Although that figure didn't budge in June, the strong number of jobs added provides more fuel for those who expect it to reach 7.0 by year's end.

The biggest gainer among the industry sectors in June was the leisure and hospitality category, which added 75,000 jobs. The BLS also revised upward the jobs numbers from the previous two months: May went from 175,000 to 195,000, and April grew markedly from 149,000 to 199,000.




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