**MNI DATA IMPACT: US June Jobs Strong +224k; Earnings +0.2%>

--May Payrolls Rev Down To +72k, April Jobs Rev Down to +216k

By Kevin Kastner, Brooke Migdon, and Alexandra Kelley

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - Payrolls growth was stronger than expected in 

June, rising by 224,000 and following a small net downward revision to 

the previous two months. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7% in June 

from 3.6% in May, but the actual change was smaller than that. 

     Hourly earnings growth was softer than expected, rising by 0.2% 

after an upward revised 0.3% gain in the previous month. The year/year 

rate stayed at 3.1%. 

     Here are some of the key takeaways from the data released Friday: 

     - June payrolls data were stronger than expected, posting a 224,000 

gain compared with the 160,000 Bloomberg consensus and the 170,000 MNI 

survey median. This followed a downward revision to May (+72k vs +75k 

prev) and April (+216k vs +224k prev) for a net downward revision of 

11,000. 

     - Hourly earnings rose 0.2% after an upward revised 0.3% increase 

in May. The Bloomberg consensus and MNI surveys both looked for 0.3% 

gain. Even so, the year/year rate for earnings stayed at 3.1%. Average 

hours worked held steady at 34.4 hours in June. 

     - The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7% compared with the 3.6% 

rate expected, as the labor force participation rate rose by 0.1 to 

62.9%. The size of the labor force surged by 335,000, with the number of 

employed and the number of unemployed both up. Before rounding, the 

unemployment rate rose only modestly, just enough to reach the 3.7% 

posted rate. 

     - Private payrolls rose by 191,000 in June, compared with a 150,000 

increase expected by Bloomberg and a 158,000 gain expected by an MNI 

survey. There were strong gains across a number of categories, 

especially healthcare, business services, construction, and 

manufacturing. The retail sector posted a fifth straight payrolls 

decline. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]