Hiring rebounded in June from a seven-month low and manufacturing expanded at a faster pace, evidence of economic resilience in the face of higher energy prices, economists said reports this week will show.
Employers added 160,000 jobs last month, about doubling the 75,000 gain in May that was the weakest since employment slumped in the aftermath of the Gulf Coast hurricanes last year, according to the median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. A pickup in business investment is giving factories a lift, a private industry report was expected to show Saturday.
The reports suggest the economy is entering the second half of the year on a steadier footing after slowing last quarter when energy prices jumped. The employment report will probably show wages aren’t rising fast enough to stoke inflation, comforting Federal Reserve policymakers.
“It’s a good outcome from the Fed’s point of view,” said Tim Rogers, chief economist at Briefing.com in Boston.
“The inflation uptrend isn’t as severe as it could be, and we are still going to see decent growth. Maybe the Fed won’t have to push too hard on policy.”
The jobless rate probably held at 4.6 percent last month, matching May’s almost five-year low, and average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, the Labor Department’s unemployment report Friday is likely to show. That would put hourly wages up 3.7 percent from the same month last year, equaling the May increase.
In other reports this week:
Construction spending probably increased 0.2 percent in May, after falling 0.1 percent the prior month, a Commerce Department report scheduled for weekend release was expected to show.
Orders to U.S. factories rose 0.1 percent in May after falling 1.8 percent a month earlier, a report Wednesday from the Commerce Department is expected to show. Demand improved for machinery, metals and communications gear, while fewer bookings for aircraft restrained total orders, economists said.
First-time claims for jobless benefits rose to 315,000 in the week ended Thursday from 313,000 the previous week, the Labor Department is expected to report Thursday.
