U.S. non-farm payrolls rise above expectations in June, jobless rate rises slightly to 4 pct

U.S. non-farm payrolls came in above expectations again in June. Payrolls rose 213k in the month. This followed through on a strong 244k tally in May. Job gains in the past two months were upwardly revised by 37k. The jobless rate rose slightly to 4 percent, but that is less concerning given that it was in part because of a rise in the labor force participation rate, from 62.7 percent in May to 62.9 percent in June.

The headline participation rate has been comparatively flat in the past two years. However, significantly, the participation rate for core age workers rose to 82 percent in June, continuing the rebounding trend seen in the last three years. It still continues to be around one percentage point below its pre-recession peak, implying there is still some labor market slack.

Goods sector hiring held up well in June, rising 53k positions, stimulated by 36k new jobs in manufacturing. Mining and construction also gained new jobs. Services sector hiring slowed slightly, but still rose a strong 149k new jobs. Business services and health care also saw strength, while retail sector shed 22k jobs, reversing the May rise.

Wages rose modestly, up 0.2 percent in June, against expectations for a 0.3 percent rose. On a year-on-year basis, growth in average hourly earnings dropped to 2.7 percent. June marks two consecutive months of better than anticipated job growth, and upward revisions to historical job gains. At 4 percent, the jobless rate is still quite low, and the rise in labor force participation is a good sign that a sound job market is drawing more workers back to the workforce, stated TD Economics.

At 15:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was highly bearish at -168.881. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex