U.S. non-farm payrolls rise above expectations in June, jobless rate rises marginally to 3.7 pct

U.S. non-farm payrolls rose above expectations in June. Employment rose by 224k, as compared with the expectations of a rise of 160k. Private-sector hiring grew 191k, while government payrolls expanded 33k.

Goods-producing employment rose 37k, with 21k in construction and 17k in manufacturing. Meanwhile, services employment rose 154k, more than double the 72k created in May. Looking at revisions, they were relatively minor, with 11k fewer jobs created over the prior two months relative to the previous estimate.

The jobless rate rose a bit to 3.7 percent from May’s 3.6 percent. The rise is due to relatively solid strong force growth and an increasing participation rate. Household survey employment rose 224k. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2 sequentially, but the trend for growth in the past year dropped to 3.1 percent.

Job growth returned to for in June following a scare in May. Continued above-trend growth bellies concerns that the U.S. economy is turning over, noted TD Economics in a research report.

“At 3.7 percent, unemployment is low, but don't expect Fed officials to get too excited about it as long as inflation is soft and nominal wage growth is showing little signs of accelerating. Still, while an insurance cut may be on the table, this isn't the kind of data that portends the start of an easing cycle”, added TD Economics.

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