The AP (7/2, Boak) reports that ADP announced on Wednesday that private employers added 281,000 jobs in June, up from 179,000 in May. The number reflects gains mostly in professional and business services. Goods producers hired 51,000 workers, up from 31,000 the month before. The report is a good sign that the government jobs report will also show a positive gain in jobs.
Reuters (7/2) reports that it is the largest monthly gain in jobs since November 2012.
MarketWatch (7/2, Mantell), taking a different angle, reports that “small businesses added 117,000 jobs, medium businesses added 115,000, and large businesses added 49,000.”
Thirty-Two States Still Haven’t Recovered All Jobs Lost In Recession. The AP (7/2) reports that at least 32 “states still haven’t regained all the jobs they lost” at the beginning of the recession despite the recession ending in 2009. The states with the biggest gaps in employment – such as Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and Nevada – were also the ones “hit most painfully by the recession.” In contrast, several states have soared to the top of the job creation list, mainly on the back of the energy boom.
Part-Time Work Still Big Part Of Employment. The Washington Post (7/2, Mui) reports that even as jobs have shown increases over the last few months, there is “a gnawing fear among economists that the improving data provides false comfort” due to part-time work continuing to take up a large share of the employment sector. Some economists speculate that part-time work will decrease as the economy improves, however. The share of part-time employment peaked in 2009 and has been on a slow but steady decline since then. Still, a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta stated that part-time work is a significant factor holding back wage growth and the economy.
Twin Cities Have Lowest Metropolitan Unemployment In US. CNBC’s Nightly Business Report (7/2, Wee) reports the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota are “doing especially well in this recovery,” boasting a jobless rate of 4 percent for the month of May. The rate is the lowest unemployment rate of all the large metropolitan US areas, according to data from the US Department of Labor. The area is benefiting from a thriving health sector and “ripple effects” from the oil boom in North Dakota. Other states with low unemployment rates are Austin, Texas, with a 4.1 percent rate; Columbus, Ohio, and Oklahoma City, which are tied with a 4.4 percent rate; and Boston, with an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent.
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