Data published today by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics indicates that the US economy added 372,000 jobs during the
month of June, beating expectations. This left the unemployment rate unchanged
at 3.6 percent.

Here are three things you should
know about this news.

1. We’ve very nearly recovered all the jobs that were lost in the economic fallout of the COVID pandemic. There are currently 151.9 million nonfarm jobs in the domestic economy, just below the 152.5 million in February of 2020 measured immediately before the onset of the pandemic.

2. This strong job growth comes at a time when total economic output seems to be contracting. GDP growth in the first quarter of 2022 was negative and very early estimates of second quarter growth remain below zero. This dynamic of a growing labor market with contracting output is without recent precedent, which suggests that forecasts, particularly regarding a looming recession, may be more uncertain than usual.

3. Sizeable jobs gains are generally interpreted as good news for the economy. But with inflation raging, we actually need the economy to slow down; that’s why the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates and there is pressure on the executive branch to ease spending. So while this report on jobs is good news for workers who are looking for work or benefiting from pay increases, it might mean that efforts to slow the economy and rein in inflation aren’t yet working.

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