WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: U.S. Job Growth Surges with 850,000 Jobs Added in June

Today, we learned that our economy created 850,000 jobs in June – for a total of more than 3 million since President Biden took office – the most in the first 5 months of a presidency on record and an average of 600,000 jobs per month.

Today's jobs report is further proof that the President's economic plan is working: the American Rescue Plan cut middle class taxes and put checks in the bank accounts of people who had been hurt most by the pandemic – helping Americans get back to work and spurring the fastest growth in a generation. And, the President's vaccination program got Americans vaccinated at a faster rate than any other country in the world, and allowed our businesses and schools to reopen again.

See below for what they are saying:

CNN: The US economy added 850,000 jobs in June
[Anneken Tappe, 7/2/21]
"The US economy added 850,000 jobs in June, when adjusted for seasonal changes. It was far more than economists had expected and a signal that American job growth is accelerating.

It was the biggest monthly jobs gain since August 2020, when the economy added 1.6 million jobs."

AP: US hiring accelerated in June as workers earned higher pay
[Christopher Rugaber, 7/2/21]
"In an encouraging burst of hiring, America's employers added 850,000 jobs in June, well above the average of the previous three months and a sign that companies may be having an easier time finding enough workers to fill open jobs.

Friday's report from the Labor Department was the latest evidence that the reopening of the economy is propelling a powerful rebound from the pandemic recession. Restaurant traffic across the country is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and more people are shopping, traveling and attending sports and entertainment events. The number of people flying each day has regained about 80% of its pre-COVID-19 levels. And Americans' confidence in the economic outlook has nearly fully recovered."

CNBC: U.S. adds 850,000 jobs in June, better than expected
[Jeff Cox, 7/2/21]
"From a market perspective, this was an all-out positive jobs report," said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. "The improvement today likely reflects a slight easing of the labor supply constraints that have been holding back the jobs market in recent months, as well as continued momentum from the economic reopening."

Axios: 1 big thing: Jump in jobs, pickup in pay
[Mike Allen, 7/2/21]
"Americans are going back to work at a faster clip — and getting paid more to do so.

• The U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 850,000 jobs in June.
• Average hourly earnings jumped 3.6% from a year ago, in a continuation of the trend seen over the past two months.

Why it matters: These numbers back up anecdotal evidence from employers across the country. Demand for workers is strong, forcing employers to raise the amount they're offering to be able to compete.
The leisure and hospitality sector added a stunning 343,000 jobs — more than a third of June's total job gains.

• That's a big deal, because industry employers have been the most vocal about their inability to find workers.

What they're saying: "It turns out that you can find workers, you just have to pay a better wage than in the past, because wages of low-wage workers are going up," economist Betsey Stevenson tweeted."

Peter Baker, New York Times: "Hiring leapt back up in June as employers added 850,000 workers, the strongest gain in 10 months and a fresh sign that the labor market's recovery is gaining momentum. @PatcohenNYT" [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Paul Krugman, New York Times: "It's morning in America! Sort of seriously. One take I haven't seen is that so far the rate of job growth under Joe Biden is running somewhat faster than during the recovery that reelected Ronald Reagan. We've been adding jobs at a monthly rate of around 600,000, or > 7 million annual rate. In the year before the 1984 election we gained around 4 million jobs; but from a lower base, so the equivalent of ~ 6.5 million today. Now, Reagan didn't deserve credit for that boom — it was mainly about Fed policy. Biden gets at least partial credit for this boom, bc his admin did so much to get vaccines out there. Lots of problems out there, of course, and we're still far below full employment. But Biden is presiding over a boom that would have had Republicans demanding a victory parade if Trump were still in office." [Tweet thread, 7/2/21]

Heather Long, Washington Post: "The key jobs day takeaway: Higher wages work. Leisure & hospitality pay jumped 3.6% in past 3 months Leisure and hospitality accounted 40% of the job gains Pay is up ~$1.30 above pre-pandemic rate." [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Rana Foroohar, Financial Times: "It is the job of journalists to poke holes in politicians' armor. But I've got to say, this is a pretty good report. It is strong, it is historic. What I like about it is that we're seeing hiring across the board, a lot of the unemployment at this point is people leaving jobs that they're not so crazy about and trying to find better ones which is actually a very good sign. The other thing I like is that you're seeing hiring at the lower end of the pay scale. It is expensive to hire people and that is sort of belying this conservative argument that's been put forward that "hey people aren't going to go to work because they've been given too much in stimulus payments." People want to work at all ends of the job spectrum. Work is important to them. It is part of their self-esteem. So it that's a really good thing for the Biden administration to put forward. It makes their case that, yes, the stimulus payments were important but people are getting back to work now." [CNN New Day With John Berman and Brianna Keilar, 7/2/21]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "Today's jobs numbers send a resounding message: thanks to
@POTUS and @HouseDemocrats, America is roaring back. By putting vaccines in arms and money in workers' pockets, Democrats are leading an historic economic recovery, with more jobs and higher wages across the board." [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: "Senate Democrats and @POTUS acted quickly to pass the #AmericanRescuePlan. And today's jobs report shows that our economy is roaring back as a result!" [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Senator Debbie Stabenow: "850,000 jobs! Americans are getting back to work. Simply put….it's getting better with Biden!" [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor: "The Jobs Report or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Consider Heightened Statistical Noise in Economic Measurement." [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg: The U.S. economy added 850,000 jobs in June, beating the estimate of 720,000. The unemployment rate actually increased, which is a sign that more people are now seeking work." [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Jeff Stein: "Analyst Chris Rupkey: "Monster Jobs Report .. the economic outlook for the second half of 2021 is rock solid. ... Join the labor market; it's red hot." [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Saleha Moshin: "U.S. Job Growth Surges Most in 10 Months, Jumping Past Forecast." [Tweet, 7/2/21]

Zac Petkanas: "Some facts about today's jobs #s thanks to Biden's American Rescue Plan:

1. 850k jobs added in June

2. 3 million since Biden took office (most in the first 5 months of a presidency on record)

3. Hospitality added 343k jobs

4. Average wages up 1.4% over the last 3 months." [Tweet, 7/2/21]