June Jobs Report Shows Huge Gains

Employers shook off two months of weak hiring by adding 287,000 jobs in June, a robust pace that suggests a resilient US economy. The hiring spurt marked a sharp improvement from May's dismal showing, when just 11,000 jobs were added, reports the AP. A modest 144,000 jobs had been added in April. The unemployment rate rose in June to 4.9% from 4.7% as more Americans began seeking jobs—a sign of growing confidence—and some didn't find them. The recent hiring slump had come after the economy grew at a tepid 1.1% annual rate in the first three months of the year, when Americans' spending rose at the slowest pace in two years. However, the broadly positive report suggests that the US economy was improving before the UK's Brexit vote.

Americans, for example, ramped up their spending in April and May, and measures of consumer confidence also grew. The stronger spending led economists to forecast that annualized growth rebounded to 2% or more in the April-June quarter. However, concerns about the global economy have deepened since the Brexit vote, which sent financial markets gyrating. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note this week touched a record low of 1.34%. Such a decline has historically signaled anemic growth and even an outright recession. Manufacturing companies expanded in June at their fastest pace since November, according to an Institute for Supply Management survey. Meanwhile, sales of existing homes reached a nine-year high in May. (More jobs report stories.)