Quick Take: June Jobs Data Surprise to Upside
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- After the market reacted in a bullish manner to the June nonfarm payroll report, TheStreet's Jeanne Yurman is here with the full breakdown.
A better-than-expected ADP jobs report on Wednesday was a precursor to Friday's nonfarm payroll report, which revealed that 195,000 jobs were added in the month of June. The increase was 30,000 more than economists had expected and 20,000 higher than 175,000 in May.
Although economists say the 2013 average of nearly 200,000 additional jobs created per month should begin cutting down the unemployment rate, the effect wasn't felt this month. The rate held steady at 7.6% despite expectations for it to decline to 7.5%.
According to the report, retail hiring was strong, particularly at car dealerships and home improvement retailers. This comes as no surprise, since both sectors have been surging in 2013.
The average work week also remained unchanged, at 34.5 hours, but hourly wages did tick slightly higher to $24.01, from $23.89. Overall, wages are up 2.2% from year ago figures.
Although the report does have many positives, bears were quick to point out that the number of part-time jobs rose, while full-time jobs fell. Although this still represents job growth, it is considered to be of lesser quality.
Although the stock market had initially cheered the jobs report, rising yields have kept investors' optimism in check, with
Federal Reserve
tapering expected to begin sometime this fall, Yurman said.
-- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich.
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Bret Kenwell currently writes, blogs and also contributes to Rocco Pendola's Weekly Options Newsletter. Focuses on short- to intermediate-term trading opportunities that can be exposed via options. He prefers to use debit trades on momentum setups and credit trades on support/resistance setups. He also focuses on building long-term wealth by searching for consistent, quality dividend paying companies and long-term growth companies. He considers himself the surfer, not the wave, in relation to the market and himself. He has no allegiance to either the bull side or the bear side.