Massive Jobs Gains for June

The June jobs report is out. The government said the U.S. economy created 4.8 million jobs last month. That blew past expectations of 2.9 million. The NFP chart looks like the back drop of a New Yorker cartoon.

The unemployment rate fell to 11.1%. Expectations were for 12.4%.

The jobs growth marked a big leap from the 2.7 million in May, which was revised up by 190,000. The June total is easily the largest single-month gain in U.S. history.

The numbers capture the move by all 50 states to get activity moving again after the virus seized up much of the U.S., particularly service-related industries.

However, because the government survey comes from the middle of the month, it does not account for the suspension or rollbacks in regions hit by a resurgence in coronavirus cases.

Weekly jobless claims rose by 1.427 million. This is the 15th straight week that the number has topped one million. Economists had been expecting an increase of 1.38 million.

The stock market is up in early trading and the cyclicals are leading the charge. The S&P 500 has been up as much as 1.5% this morning. This looks to be the index’s fourth daily gain in a row.

The stock market is closed tomorrow ahead of the Independence Day weekend.

Posted by on July 2nd, 2020 at 9:16 am


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