June employment report shows pickup from May reading, but payroll gain below forecasts; wages show largest 1-year gain since '01.
July 7 2006: 8:47 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Employers added more jobs to the economy in June, but the closely watched government report showed a weaker labor market than Wall Street predicted.
There was a net gain of 121,000 jobs for the U.S. economy, according to the Labor Department report, up from the revised 92,000 gain posted in May. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 160,000 jobs.
Enter Keyword(s): Help
Enter a City:
Select a State:
– All United States – Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
The unemployment rate stayed at 4.6 percent, in line with forecasts of economists, who had predicted the rate would remain at the 4.6 percent level reported in May.
The report showed average hourly wages up 0.5 percent to $16.70. That was more than the 0.3 percent increase forecast by economists.
The wage gain represents a 3.9 percent year-over-year rise, the biggest gain in that measure since June 2001. That could be seen as being inflationary, and could prompt the Federal Reserve to keep raising interest rates in an effort to cool the economy and keep prices in check.
But the weaker than expected jobs number was seen as lessening pressure on the Fed to raise rates. Stock futures rallied on the report, and Treasurys rallied, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down to 5.14 percent from 5.18 percent before the report.