The June 2021 Jobs Report: What is the Current US Employment Situation?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their monthly overview of the US employment situation and the data for June has improved since May as more people are vaccinated, businesses are reopening, and economic activity continues to resume. The labor department jobs report examines a range of US jobs data to gauge the overall health of the US economy, specifically the number of jobs added, the unemployment rate, and what industries are hiring now.

The June jobs report shows an improvement in the labor market. The unemployment rate grew slightly to 5.9% (due to an increase in people looking for work), but total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 850,000. The number of unemployed persons increased only slightly to 9.5 million (compared to 5.8 million in February 2020).

Here are some other key statistics from the labor department jobs report:

• Average hourly wages for employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 10 cents to $30.40 in June, after increases in May and April as well.
• 6.2 million people were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic. This number has decreased by 1.7 million since May.
• 14.4% of people teleworked due to the pandemic in June. This number is down from 16.6% in May.

June brought job gains for sectors including leisure and hospitality, education, and professional and business services. Here’s how industries were impacted in June:

Overall, the labor department jobs report suggests that the economy is showing improvement as the vaccination efforts are underway and states are resuming economic activity across the country. However, it’s a long road to economic recovery.

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