Employment grows in the heat of summer

Monday, July 7, 2014 - 12:00 YT&Twebzine

The unemployment rate dropped again in June and is now 6.1 percent, as employers added 288,000 jobs.

U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez, in his blog, pointed out that only a year ago the unemployment rate was significantly higher -- 7.5 percent.

On the upside:

The unemployment rates for adult women (5.3 percent) and African-Americans (10.7 percent) declined in June.
The number of long-term unemployed, defined by the Labor Department as those jobless for 27 weeks or more, declined by 293,000 in June to 3.1 million. This group accounts for roughly one-third of all those unemployed.
Employment growth was widespread. Professional and business services added 67,000 jobs in June. Retail employment increased by 40,000 in June. During the past year the retail industry has added an average of 26,000 jobs per month.
Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents to $24.45, following a 6-cent increase in May. During the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 2 percent.

On the downside:

As the summer began, the unemployment rate for teens was 21 percent.
There was bad news about the number of “involuntary part-time workers,” the Labor Department's term for workers who have had their hours cut back or were unable to find a full-time job. There are now more of these involuntary part-timers: an increase of 275,000 in June.
Not everyone can celebrate the jobs report. Employment rates differed dramatically from state to state – from a low of 2.6 percent in North Dakota to a midrange 5.5 percent in Ohio to a high of 8.2 percent in Rhode Island, according to the Labor Department.