The foreshadowing from yesterday turned prescient. That bad-weather, bad-economic-news first part of the year behind us, June saw job gains in a variety of industries.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says 288,000 jobs were created, about 75,000 more than expected.
Gains were “widespread,” it reported. Indeed, a variety of industries looked strong: professional services, retail, food services, healthcare, transportation, and finance. Industries little changed included mining and logging, construction, information, and government.
The unemployment rate fell from 6.3 percent to 6.1 percent. And, the last two months’ of reports were revised upward, adding 29,000 jobs for those months.
You might have heard of something called “U-6“; it remains high but fell slightly, from 12.2 percent to 12.1 percent. That’s a measure some people think is more reflective of actual unemployment, because it includes people, for example, who take part-time jobs because they can’t find something full time.
Other recent data out look pretty good.
MRI is saying it’s more of a candidate’s market, with candidates getting multiple offers and wanting as much pay as they can get.
Robert Half says “eight percent of technology executives plan to put their hiring on hold through the rest of the year, down from 15 percent.”
Others say that permanent placements (vs. temp assignments) are up and that industries like technology, homebuilding, oil & gas, and cars are strong. And John Challenger says job cuts plunged.