Max Chafkin | Inc. magazine

Employment Picture Warms in June

 

July 8, 2005--The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since September 2001, as the economy added 146,000 jobs, according to a report released Friday.

The Department of Labor's household survey showed that the unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 5.0% in June while the workforce increased by only 1,000. Job growth, as reported in the department's payroll survey, was significantly improved from May, when only 104,000 jobs were created, though far off the 292,000 jobs created in April. The rate of growth also fell below the 190,000 new jobs expected by analysts.

Much of the month's growth was fueled by the business services industry, which added 56,000 jobs, along with health care, which added 25,000. The news was less encouraging for manufacturing and automotive industries, which lost 24,000 and 18,000 jobs respectively.

The average workweek -- seen by many as an indicator for future job growth -- was flat in June, remaining at 33.7 hours, while the manufacturing workweek and average overtime hours were also unchanged. Average wages for workers went up by 3 cents an hour, while weekly earnings rose by 0.2%.

Senior contributing writer Max Chafkin has profiled companies such as Yelp, Zappos, Twitter, Threadless, and Tesla for the magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. @chafkin