Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her initial insights on the jobs report released this morning. 

From EPI senior economist, Elise Gould (@eliselgould):

Read the full Twitter thread here. 

Labor market continues to be strong, mostly positive signals from today’s report with some notable trends to watch:
– Payrolls up 209k (+60k public sector), unemployment down to 3.6%, prime-age women’s EPOP highest on record
– Black and young unemployment ticked up again in June

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) July 7, 2023

The gains in public sector employment over the last few months are a welcome trend for the workers in those jobs and the vital services they provide. The public sector job shortfall is down to a deficit of 161k jobs. State and local jobs are still 1.1% below pre-pandemic levels. pic.twitter.com/7PfECgXXsP

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) July 7, 2023

As the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.6% in June, the share of 25-54 year olds with a job continued to rise, hitting 80.9% in June, its highest level in over 20 years. pic.twitter.com/s2dtypt06E

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) July 7, 2023

Concerning is the continued rise in Black unemployment. While it’s important not to make a big deal from one-month of data, I expected Black unemployment would be revised down last month and continue falling. That did not happen. Hopefully it’s not a sign of things to come. pic.twitter.com/53q2wFEWen

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) July 7, 2023

After hitting a 70 year low in April, the unemployment rate for young workers (16-24 years old) rose in May and ticked up slightly in June. Youth unemployment (16-19 year olds) rose sharply the last two months, from 9.2% in April up to 11.0% in June. pic.twitter.com/KYqXd0rrN8

— Elise Gould (@eliselgould) July 7, 2023