Nonfarm payrolls for June beat expectations, but the headline numbers don't tell the whole story. Here are the five most important numbers from the report.
- Job growth of 213,000 topped economist expectations for 195,000 and provided yet another strong month for U.S. payroll gains, despite predictions that the economy is near full employment and should be posting numbers about half this level.
- The unemployment rate rose to 4 percent, but this was one of those months where that was a good thing, as more potential workers came in from the sidelines and added the total labor force.
- Though the number can vary widely by month, the 601,000 entrants to the labor force provided a positive sign that discouraged workers are back out looking for jobs.
- Black unemployment had been at a record low but jumped from 5.9 percent to 6.5 percent, again largely the product of labor force growth that saw 68,000 new participants back in the market against a decline of 47,000 in the group's employment level.
- Along with a lot of good news, the all-important wage numbers again disappointed, with average hourly earnings up just 2.7 percent year over year, one-tenth of a percentage point below expectations.