Jobs

June jobs report is a ‘Goldilocks story,’ says ex-White House advisor

‘Smooth path’ to full employment
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‘Smooth path’ to full employment
June nonfarm payrolls increase by 287,000
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June nonfarm payrolls increase by 287,000

June's massive jobs beat after May's disappointing data shows the United States is on track to achieving full employment, said Jared Bernstein, a former economic advisor to Vice President Joseph Biden.

The U.S. added 287,000 nonfarm payroll positions in June, blowing away estimates for 175,000 and easing fears after May's dismal report showed gains of just 38,000.

That brought the average three-month job gains to 147,000 per month.

The labor force participation rate — which shows the percentage of Americans at work or actively looking for employment — increased to 62.7 percent. Average hourly earnings also increased one-tenth of a percent.

"It's more of a Goldilocks story. You've got wage growth percolating, you've got a trend of about 150K — we'd like to see more — but that does keep you on the path to full employment," Bernstein, now a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"It's impressive that we're adding jobs even as the labor force participation rate is ticking up. That means people are coming in and getting work," he said.

May's job gains were revised down to 11,000, but Bernstein said he discounts the swings.

Anastasia Amoroso, global market strategist at JPMorganFunds, said it was important to note that the overall pace of job creation has been slowing down and will likely continue to do so.

"We're well past the peak, which we saw in February of 2015.The realities that 4.7, or in this case 4.9 percent unemployment, you're starting to run into labor constraints, which is why wages are rising," she told "Squawk Box."

Economy actually heating up: Strategist
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Economy actually heating up: Strategist

Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel Nicolaus, said the report was not a positive step because the three-month average gain of roughly 150,000 marks a decline from the pace of job additions at the end of 2015.

The labor market is on "fragile, unsolid footing" and gives no sense of immediacy for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, she told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." The participation rate gains were a wash, given the number of Americans who dropped out of the labor force in May, she said.

But David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said he was not concerned about the slowdown, noting it was to be expected in a U.S. economy that is only capable of 1.5 percent growth.

"The key thing here is this economy is a healthy tortoise. It's not a sickly hare," he told "Squawk on the Street."

"If you've got 1.5 percent growth in the long run, doing 150,000 jobs is actually a little bit above your normal capacity. I don't think there's any slack left in this labor market at all," he said.

Bill Rodgers, a former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" that he also thinks recent levels of job creation are a sign of steady growth.

"We're not in a soft patch nor are we accelerating in like a gang-buster, but we're steady as we go," Rodgers said. "When you're seven years into a recovery this is the kind of job creation that we historically see."

The economy is actually tightening and heating up, and that is what the Fed should focus on, he said. The U.S. central bank's requirements for raising interest rates include continued labor market improvement and progress toward its inflation target of 2 percent.