U.S. Employment Jumps More Than Expected But Unemployment Rate Continues To Edge Higher

(RTTNews) - A closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed employment in the U.S. jumped by more than expected in the month of June, although the report also showed another unexpected uptick by the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 206,000 jobs in June compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 190,000 jobs.

Employment in the healthcare and social assistance sector once again contributed to the stronger than expected job growth, while the report also showed a significant increase in government jobs.

Meanwhile, the report showed a slump by temporary help services jobs as well as modest decreases in retail and manufacturing jobs.

The Labor Department also said the increases in employment in April and May were downwardly revised to 108,000 jobs and 218,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 111,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate also rose for the third straight month, inching up to 4.1 percent in June from 4.0 percent in May. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

With the unexpected uptick, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting a matching rate in November 2021.

The continued increase by the unemployment rate came as the labor force grew by 277,000 persons compared to the 116,000-person growth by the household survey measure of employment.

"The cooling in the labor market, despite the higher than consensus estimate for the headline payroll print, portends a broader economic downturn as the all-important consumer becomes more concerned about the ability to find new jobs as well as continued job security," said Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist for LPL Financial.

She added, "Today's report, in conjunction with the latest ISM Manufacturing and Service Sector PMI date releases indicating that the broader economy has moved into contraction territory, should have Fed officials troubled that the desired cooling in the economy could transition into a frigid summer."

While the report also said average hourly employee earnings rose by $0.10 or 0.3 percent to $35, the annual rate of growth slowed to 3.9 percent in June from 4.1 percent in May.