Nonfarm payrolls increased by 372,000 jobs last month, according to Friday’s report from the Labor Department. May data was revised down slightly to show payrolls grew by 384,000 instead of the 390,000 previously reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 268,000 jobs added last month. Estimates ranged from a low of 90,000 to a high of 400,000.
Bigger-than-expected gains in June brought the economy closer to recovering all the jobs lost during the pandemic. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6% for the fourth consecutive month. This is inconsistent with an economy that is on the verge of a recession.
Most industries, with the exception of leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, health care, wholesale trade, and local government education, have regained all jobs lost during the pandemic.
Part of the slowdown in payrolls last month was due to problems with seasonal factors, the model the government uses to remove seasonal fluctuation from data, after the turmoil caused by the pandemic.
Unadjusted payrolls rose to the highest on record in June 2020 as the economy emerged from the first wave of COVID-19.
