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US: Nonfarm payrolls increased 224K in June vs. 160K expected

  • Unemployment ticked up to 3.7% in June from 3.6% in May.
  • Wage inflation, as measured by average hourly earnings, stayed unchanged at 3.1% (YoY) in June. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported that nonfarm payrolls in June increased by 224,000 following May's reading of +72,000 (revised from 75,000) and missed the market expectation of 160,000 by a wide margin.

With the initial reaction, the US Dollar Index jumped above the 97 mark and was last seen adding 0.33% on the day at 97.06.

Key takeaways from the press release

"The labor force participation rate, at 62.9 percent, was little changed over the month and unchanged over the year."

"The unemployment rate was little changed at 3.7 percent."

"In June, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 6 cents to $27.90, following a 9-cent gain in May."

"Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.1 percent."

"The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.4 hours in June."

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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