The economy added 195,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department reported Friday morning, slightly more than analysts had been expecting and suggesting steady growth.
Wall Street has been feverishly awaiting the June employment report. A strong report increases the likelihood the central bank will start pulling back on its bond purchases as early as September, a prospect that has made some investors more cautious in recent weeks.
The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the one that tracks jobs, remained at 7.6 percent, unchanged from May.
Despite signals from Wall Street that the labor market is strong enough to handle a reduction in the stimulus, the pace of job creation has slowed in recent months. Over the course of March, April and May, the economy added jobs at an average rate of 155,000 a month, down from the 233,000-a-month pace that prevailed in December, January and February.
While the economy has held up better than some analysts had expected in the face of tax increases and automatic cuts in federal spending this year, overall growth has been tepid. The economy grew at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the first quarter, short of what’s needed to quickly lower the unemployment rate or reduce the ranks of the jobless.
Another factor holding back strong job growth has been a steady drop in public employment. In June, private employers added 202,000 positions, while state, local and federal governments shed 7,000 workers.
The manufacturing sector, often viewed as a barometer for the broader economy, lost 6,000 positions in June. Employment in the construction sector, which has been volatile, rose by 13,000.
For unemployed workers, the odds of finding a job remain daunting.
