US Businesses’ June Growth Up 172K Jobs

In the United States, companies added 172,000 jobs in June, The New York Times reported on Thursday (July 7), and this indicates that hiring may been on the mend after slowdowns in April and May.

The data came from payroll processing firm ADP, which said that service firms showed job growth, in contrast to manufacturers, which were off 21,000 jobs. Construction firms shed 5,000 positions.

The June number follows a slight revision downward for the May data, which now shows 168,000 jobs gained. Eyes will thus be on any recovery from, and upward revisions to, the disappointing 38,000 jobs that were created in May, according to government data. As NYT noted, the average pace from March to May now stands at 116,000 jobs.

The ADP data does show anemic hiring overseas, as larger firms, marked by at least 1,000 employees, added only 4,000 jobs. That is the slowest pace in a year. The dollar is strong, which makes business more expensive and may make hiring comparatively lighter.

Though the Fed has not yet raised rates, attention has been focused on how overseas events, primarily Brexit, may impact the economy here. This would come at a time when Americans have been boosting their spending, with growth in May, and home buying has proceeded apace. Economists have been looking to see growth on an annual pace at 2.5 percent as measured by the April to June quarter.