The U.S. economy added 850,000 jobs in June while the unemployment rate rose to 5.9 percent according to the latest data released Friday morning from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Among the industries with the most notable growth — as more states lift restrictions put in place due to the Wuhan coronavirus — were leisure and hospitality, public and private education, and professional and business services.
Payroll employment rises by 850,000 in June; unemployment rate changes little at 5.9% https://t.co/1Y9cSWJUIB #JobsReport #BLSdata
— BLS-Labor Statistics (@BLS_gov) July 2, 2021
The number of "long-term unemployed" Americans increased by 233,000 to 4.0 million, while the average number of hours worked per week declined slightly to 34.7 hours.
Overall, 9.5 million Americans are unemployed, "down considerably from their recent highs in April 2020 but remain well above their levels prior to the coronavirus pandemic," the Department of Labor reported.
Forecasts predicted that the economy would add around 700,000+ jobs, so June's numbers outpaced the consensus expectations for that metric. On the whole, though, the report was still "disappointing" to many analysts and pundits.
The good news: 850,000 jobs were added.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 2, 2021
And that's really good news!
The bad news: There are still almost 10 million open job listings, and the unemployment rate went up. That's because we're subsidizing people to stay home, and blowing out the deficit in the process.
Breaking News
— Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) July 2, 2021
Jobs Report Beats Consensus but disappointing
850,000 total
662,000 private sector (so-so)
5.9% U3 unemployment rate (higher)
+151,000 labor force (weak)
-18,000 Employed Household Survey
Hourly wages $30.40 +$0.10
Hours worked declined
Should have been much better
The stronger-than-expected job growth is due in part to states that have ended expanded or extended federal unemployment benefits that often incentivized citizens to stay out of the workforce. As the Wall Street Journal noted recently, the number of Americans taking unemployment benefits is "falling at a faster rate in Missouri and 21 other states canceling enhanced and extended payments this month, suggesting that ending the aid could push more people to take jobs."
As June's employment data demonstrates, ending the extended benefits did push more people to enter the workforce because, for some, it was no longer more financially beneficial to avoid returning to work.
These states, unsurprisingly, are almost all led by Republicans. Even Politico noted that, when it comes to the 15 states that have already returned to pre-Wuhan coronavirus economic activity, "12 are led by Republican governors." On the flip side, "the 10 states reporting the lowest levels of activity since January 2020, seven — including New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois — are run by Democratic governors."
The data from these states, along with today's jobs report for June, suggest conservative leadership and policies are a significant predictor of a strong economic recovery.
The Republican National Committee recently heralded the economic growth in GOP-led states based on Labor Department data that found 18 of the top 20 states for jobs recovered since COVID hit have Republican-controlled legislatures, as do 17 of the 20 states with the lowest unemployment.