U.S. nonfarm payrolls rise more than forecast in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly increases

The U.S. Labor Department announced on Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 850,000 in June after a revised 583,000 increase in the prior month (originally a gain of 559,000). This marked the largest monthly advance since August 2020.

According to the report, notable job gains were recorded in leisure and hospitality (+343,000), public and private education (+269,000), professional and business services (+72,000), retail trade (+67,000), and other services (56,000).

The unemployment rate edged up to 5.9 percent in June from 5.8 percent in May. 

Economists had forecast the nonfarm payrolls to increase by 700,000 and the jobless rate to drop to 5.7 percent.

The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 61.6 percent in June, while hourly earnings for private-sector workers advanced 0.3 percent m-o-m (or $0.10) to $30.40, following a revised 0.4 percent m-o-m increase in May (originally an increase of 0.5 percent m-o-m). Economists had forecast the average hourly earnings to increase 0.4 percent m-o-m in June. Over the year, the average hourly earnings jumped 3.6 percent in June, following a revised 1.9 percent climb in May (originally an increase of 2.0 percent).

The average workweek reduced by 0.1 hour to 34.7 hours in June, being below economists' forecast for 34.9 hours.