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Economy Gains 213,000 Jobs in June; Unemployment Little Changed at 4.0%

The U.S. economy gained 213,000 jobs in June, and unemployment was little changed at 4.0%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since the labor market continues to recover at only a tempered pace, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee should not raise interest rates.

In response to the June jobs numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:

Last month’s biggest job gains were in professional and business (50,000), manufacturing (36,000), health care (25,000), construction (13,000) and mining (5,000). Retail trade lost 22,000 jobs. Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates increased for blacks (6.5%), adult men (3.7%), adult women (3.7%) and Asians (3.2%). The unemployment rate for teenagers (12.6%), Hispanics (4.6%) and whites (3.5%) showed little or no change in June.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased in June and accounted for 23.0% of the unemployed.