The US labor market has shown signs of improvement in recent months, with employment growth surpassing expectations. The economy added an average of 188,000 jobs per month since March, a stark turnaround from last year when monthly gains averaged fewer than 10,000 jobs.
Key Metrics to Watch
The June jobs report, set to be released on Thursday, will provide important clues as to how much the labor market is heating back up. Key metrics to watch include total payroll growth and the unemployment rate, which have been steady at 4.3% for the past three months.
Economists’ estimates for June’s job gains vary widely, ranging from 35,000 to 200,000. Joe Brusuelas, RSM US’ senior economist, expects 180,000 jobs to be added and the unemployment rate to dip to 4.2%.
The labor market has been impacted by various factors, including a pickup in hiring in goods-producing and construction businesses, sustained growth in healthcare jobs, and a lift in transportation and leisure and hospitality employment due to the World Cup.
Workers’ pay gains have slowed, running at an annual rate of 3.4%, while inflation is rising at more than double that rate. However, economists expect wage growth to pick up if employment growth remains strong.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
