Nation’s employers add 213,000 jobs in June • Northwest Indiana Business Magazine
Department of Labor

Nation’s employers add 213,000 jobs in June

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Department of LaborHiring remained strong across the country in June as U.S. employers added 213,000 jobs during the month, the government reported on July 6.

Job growth occurred in professional and business services, manufacturing and health care. The retail trade lost jobs, the government said.

The nation’s jobless rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 4 percent in June, and the number of unemployed persons increased by 499,000 to 6.6 million. A year earlier, the jobless rate was 4.3 percent, and the number of unemployed persons was 7 million.

Indiana’s jobless rate in May, the latest data available, was 3.2 percent, up from 2.9 percent in April. The state’s jobless rate in May 2017 also was 3.2 percent.

The government said the nation’s labor force grew by 601,000. The labor force participation rate edged up by 0.2 percentage points over the month to 62.9 percent but has shown no clear trend thus far this year.

The employment-population ratio, at 60.4 percent, was unchanged in June and has essentially been flat since February.

The manufacturing sector added 36,000 jobs in June. Durable goods manufacturing accounted for nearly all of the increase, including job gains in fabricated metal products (+7,000), computer and electronic products (+5,000), and primary metals (+3,000). Motor vehicles and parts also added jobs over the month (+12,000), after declining by 8,000 in May.

The government said manufacturing has added 285,000 jobs the past year.

Employment in health care rose by 25,000 in June and has increased by 309,000 over the year. Hospitals added 11,000 jobs over the month, and employment in ambulatory health care services continued to trend up (+14,000).

Construction employment continued to trend up in June (+13,000) and has increased by 282,000 over the year.

In June, retail trade lost 22,000 jobs, largely offsetting a gain in May (+25,000).

Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.5 hours in June. In manufacturing, the workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 40.9 hours, and overtime edged up by 0.1 hours to 3.5 hours.

In June, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 5 cents to $26.98. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 72 cents, or 2.7 percent.

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