U.S. Employment Up by 80,000 Jobs in June

The latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was released this morning. U.S. payroll employment picked up slightly in June, and the unemployment rate* remained steady at 8.2 percent.

Over-the-month job growth was led by professional and business services (+47,000), mostly due to gains in the temporary help services industry. Manufacturing employment continued to edge upward (+12,000) thanks to a strong showing in durable goods. Health care (+13,000) and wholesale trade (+9,000) also contributed to June's employment gains. Other major industries, including construction, retail trade, and leisure and hospitality, showed little or no change over the month.

According the household survey conducted by the BLS, unemployment in June was essentially unchanged from the previous month. Over the past year, the unemployment rate dropped 0.9 percentage point. The number of unemployed, at 12.7 million, was down by 1.3 million from June 2011.

You can find more details in the full BLS press release.

*All numbers in this post are seasonally adjusted.