Wages Continued to Exceed 3% for 11th Straight Month
The U.S. economy added 224,000 jobs, the unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.7% and wages rose solidly, according to the jobs report for June. The unemployment rate for Asian Americans fell to a new record low at 2.1%.
| Employment Situation (June) | Prior | Consensus | Consensus Range | Result |
| Nonfarm Payrolls – M/M ∆ | 75,000 | 165,000 | 135,000 to 205,000 | 224,000 |
| Unemployment – Rate | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.5% to 3.8% | 3.7% |
| Private Payrolls – M/M ∆ | 90,000 | 149,000 | 135,000 to 180,000 | 191,000 |
| Manufacturing Payrolls – M/M ∆ | 3,000 | 2,000 | -2,000 to 6,000 | 17,000 |
| Labor Force Participation – Rate | 62.8% | 62.8% | 62.7% to 63.0% | 62.9% |
| Average Hourly Earnings – M/M ∆ | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% to 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Average Hourly Earnings – Y/Y ∆ | 3.1% | 3.2% | 3.1% to 3.3% | 3.1% |
| Average Workweek – All | 34.4 hrs | 34.5 hrs | 34.4 hrs to 34.5 hrs | 34.4 hrs |
The labor force participation rate (chart) ticked slightly higher from 62.8% to 62.9%, while the employment-population ratio was 60.6% for the fourth month in a row.
Manufacturing employment kicked back into gear, gaining +17,000 . in June after 4 months of little change. Manufacturing employment has averaged 8,000 per month, compared with an average of 22,000 in 2018.
Construction employment continued a solid upward trend, adding 21,000 in June. That’s on par with the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months.
In June, wages, or average hourly earnings (AHEs), for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 6 cents to $27.90. That’s after a 9-cent gain in May.
Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings (chart) have increased by 3.1%. Wage growth has exceeded 3% for the 11th straight month.
Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 4 cents to $23.43 in June.
Dave Jensen / July 5, 2019
Donald Trump is a god.
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