June Jobs And Unemployment

The US Labor Department reported the June unemployment rate increased to 9.2%, the private sector added 57,000 jobs for the month, and the government sector shed jobs for a net gain of 18,000 jobs for the month. Overall, private payrolls account for 70% of all jobs in the country and while the private sector added 2.1 million jobs since the depth of the recession in 2009, it is still about 6.8 million jobs short of the 2007 peak.

Despite solid results from retailers, the retail sector added only 5,000 jobs as companies turned cautious. Temporary jobs dropped by 12,000, the third straight month of decline, sounding an ominous note for the economy because those temp-style jobs often serve as an early indicator of job growth or loss.