Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS TO 5.3%

Job gains and wage growth missed expectations in June.

Advertisement

The US economy added 223,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.3%, its lowest level since April 2008.

Wages were flat against the prior month and rose 2% over the prior year, missing expectations.

May's big gain of 280,000 jobs was also revised lower to 254,000 while the combined April and May reports were revised lower by 60,000.

american flag amphibious boat car
James Spears takes his 1964 German built Amphicar for a drive on Lake Mead in Nevada May 6, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Over the past three months, job gains have average 221,000. Over the past year, job gains have averaged 250,000.

Advertisement

Overall, this report still shows a US economy that is creating jobs at a solid rate but with wage gains that are nowhere to be found, a key missing component of the economic recovery. Wage growth, however, was the biggest component economists were looking for ahead of this report.

Digging deeper into the report, average weekly hours worked remained steady at 34.5 in June, while the U-6 unemployment rate — which includes those who are working part-time for economic reasons — fell to 10.5%.

The labor-force participation rate also fell to a new post-crisis low of 62.6%. This is the lowest participation rate since 1977.

Here's what Wall Street was looking for ahead of the report:

Advertisement
  • Nonfarm payrolls: +233,000
  • Unemployment rate: 5.4%
  • Average hourly earnings, month-on-month: +0.2%
  • Average hourly earnings, year-on-year: +2.3%
Breaking
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account