Washington - The momentum in the US labour market picked up
in June, new government data showed with the private sector and the
government adding 222,000 jobs. The figure surpassed estimates of economists
surveyed by Bloomberg, who had expected an addition of 178,000 jobs in the
month. The unemployment rate was relatively unchanged at 4.4
percent, up from 4.3 percent in May.
The Labor Department also revised its estimates for job
gains in April and May, raising the combined figure by 47,000 jobs. Average
hourly earnings were up by 4 cents to $26.25, continuing a streak of relatively
weak wage growth.
The pace of job gains remains relatively strong, nearly
seven years into the current economic expansion. However, it is significantly
slower than what would be required to meet President Trump's ambitious promise
of creating 25 million jobs in the next decade.
On Monday, President Trump took to Twitter to celebrate
gains made in the economy. "Really great numbers on jobs & the
economy!" he wrote. "Things are starting to kick in now, and we have
just begun!".
Economists say the president has probably not been in office
long enough to have much of an influence on the economy - and that the economy
that Trump is now presiding over looks nearly identical to that at the end of
the Obama administration.
Trump's election fueled hopes of tax cuts, infrastructure
spending, and other policies that would support business.
But while the administration has moved quickly to dismantle
regulations, legislative efforts that would alter taxes and spending have
proved far more difficult, as divisions within Congressional Republicans have
bogged down healthcare reform. Many business leaders are still hoping for tax
reform before the end of the year, but they privately say the window is
closing.
Even as hopes for a "Trump bump" that would
stimulate the economy recede, the economy continues to chug along, with steady
if unimpressive growth.
Read also: Recession: South African economy shrinks by 0.7%
"We're doing fine. It's just not as much as many people
would like, but it's a very healthy 2 percent," Blu Putnam, chief
economist at CME Group, said of rates of economic growth.
While the current economic expansion is already the
third-longest in history, an aging population and a relative lack of
technological innovation mean that rates of economic growth have been slower
than past boom times.
Still, the Federal Reserve has judged that it is time to
begin to raise interest rates to more normal levels, after holding them low to
stimulate the economy after the recession. On June 14, the Federal Reserve
raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter points, from 1 percent to 1.25
percent, the third such increase in six months.