U.S. Companies Added 288,000 Jobs In June, Unemployment Rate Lowest Since 2008

The U.S. economy is finally showing signs of a major recovery. Employers across the country have increased their hiring rates in June, with reports stating that the U.S. economy added a robust 288,000 new jobs last month. According to the latest jobs report from the Labor Department, this makes June the fifth straight month in which the U.S. managed to add over 200,000 jobs. The acceleration in hiring rates has also lowered the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent. This is at the lowest since September 2008, reports the New York Times.

Over the past 12 months, the U.S. economy has managed to add over 2.5 million jobs – averaging 208,000 jobs each month. This is the fastest year-on-year phase recorded since May 2006. Overall, the U.S. economy shows signs of gaining back full strength and is growing at a healthy rate after having shrunk in the beginning of 2014. The gain of 288,000 jobs in June is followed by the addition of 217,000 jobs in May and 304,000 in April.

According to reports, the job gains were seen across a wide spectrum of sectors. The estimated increase of factory jobs was 16,000 workers and the retail sector saw the most gains with the addition of 40,200 jobs. As for financial and insurance firms, this sector had an increase of 17,000 new jobs, and restaurants and bars added 32,800 more people last month. The construction industry, however, wasn’t as active as the other sectors with just 6.000 new job additions last month.

According to Patrick O’Keefe, director of economic research at the consultancy CohnReznick, “Since February, this has now become a textbook jobs expansion. It is both broad and accelerating.”

Investors reacted positively to the development, and the Dow Jones industrial average traded above 17,000 for the first time ever, reports CBC News.

As for the unemployment rates, the current 6.1 percent is down from May’s level of 6.3 percent and is the lowest level since the financial crisis began in the fall of 2008 – starting with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.

As for the overall economy, most economists say that the growth rate attained in the second quarter is a solid 3 to 3.5 percent. This is expected to contribute to an annual growth rate of 2 percent- not far from the cumulative 1.9 percent increase in gross domestic product achieved last year.

While the addition of several new jobs is certainly welcome, do you think the U.S. will be able to sustain this growth in the coming years?

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