Data Points To Job Growth In June

The New York Times reports:

New claims for unemployment benefits in the United States declined last week to their lowest level in nearly two months, according to a government survey on Thursday, while a separate report on jobs from the payroll processor ADP was better than economists had forecast.

The reports were released a day ahead of the national monthly survey of the jobs market. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted that the survey would show the economy added 100,000 nonfarm payrolls in June, up from a gain of 54,000 in May. The survey by Bloomberg did not reflect forecasts for the unemployment rate, which had edged up to 9.1 percent in May from 9.0 percent in April.

The Labor Department said that initial claims for unemployment benefits declined by 14,000 to 418,000 as of July 1, reflecting a seasonally adjusted total. Economists had predicted 420,000.

ADP, a payroll processing company, said its survey showed that the private sector added 157,000 jobs in June. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast that the ADP report would show 70,000 jobs for June.