THE OUTLOOK for the US labour market brightened yesterday as data showed the economy added 157,000 new jobs in June, more than four times the May number.
The increase, according to the monthly ADP employment report,beat market expectations of 70,000 new jobs. May’s figures were revised down slightly to 36,000.
Amid mixed data for June and fears over a stalling recovery, all eyes are on today’s government non-farm payrolls report, which surveys suggest will show a gain of 100,000 jobs. May’s figures showed that the economy gained just 54,000 jobs.
“We always took the view that May was hit by one-time factors like severe weather and supply-chain disruptions, but this report suggests those factors were more significant than we thought,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.
Within the ADP report, the service sector added 130,000 jobs, which continued to outpace the manufacturing sector, which has been hit by slowing output. Manufacturers added 24,000 positions.
Small businesses added 88,000 workers to payrolls, while medium-sized businesses added 59,000 and large businesses 10,000.
“Given such strong employment results despite poor GDP, I am optimistic we will see improving job growth in the second half of the year,”� said Gary Butler, chief executive of ADP. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)
