Will June’s jobs report make up for May’s shocker?
Economists are nervously anticipating the June jobs report, which comes out later Friday morning. Last month’s report was a shocker – the economy added a measly 38,000 jobs, a huge drop from previous months.
One economist, Michael Montgomery with IHS Global Insight, is at least cautiously hopeful.
“The number we expect this month is about 152,000,” he said. That includes tens of thousands of Verizon workers who are now back on the job after a long strike.
“We’re expecting not another disaster, but not an absolute boon,” he added.
Justin Wolfers, who teaches economics and public policy at the University of Michigan, said job growth hasn’t been that impressive these last few months. But there’s a puzzle, because other economic indicators have. Things like initial unemployment claims have been low. Confidence is higher. The question is, which is the real economic indicator?
“Either the job numbers are right and other indicators will start to look bad soon,” he said, “or other indicators are right and the jobs numbers will catch up and start to reflect that broader strength in the economy.”
In which case he said the June jobs report will be much more optimistic.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
