The U.S. adds 223,000 jobs in June
The United States unemployment rate fell to a post-recession low of 5.3% in June, according to information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The drop in U.S. unemployment came as welcome news after rising slightly from April to May, but indicators still point to weakness in the economy.
“The 223,000 payroll numbers were nice, but outside of that, it was pretty flat,” said Harry Holzer, professor of public policy at Georgetown University, reports The L.A. Times. “Labor markets remain too weak to put consistent pressure on wages.”
Wages Stagnant
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained unchanged in June at $24.95, according to BLS data. Average hourly rate of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by $0.02 to $20.99 in June.
Mining Industry Loses More Jobs
Employment in mining continued to trend down in June, the BLS said, losing 4,000 jobs. Since a recent high in December, mining has lost 71,000 jobs, most of them concentrated in support activities for mining.
The unemployment rate for natural resource, construction and maintenance occupations was higher than the overall unemployment numbers, sitting at 6.2% in June. Unemployment in that sector was down year-over-year, with 7.3% of those working in natural resources, construction and maintenance occupations being unemployed in June of 2014.
WTI was down again today at $56.52 after remaining steady near $60 per barrel since the end of April.