The U.S. economy added 850,000 jobs in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the unemployment rate was 5.9 percent. In addition, the increases in total nonfarm employment in April and May were revised to 269,000 and 583,000, respectively. Still, employment remains 6.7 million jobs below its pre-pandemic peak.
“U.S. employment growth picked up more than expected in June,” commented Rupert Thompson, CIO at Kingswood. “Nonfarm payrolls increased 850,000, beating expectations for a 700,000 gain and up from a 583,000 gain in May. However, the picture was clouded somewhat by the unemployment rate unexpectedly edging higher to 5.9 percent from 5.8 percent.”
Some of the largest gains were in employment categories that had seen the biggest disruptions from COVID-19. Leisure and