the Employment Situation report

As usual, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Labor Department released its monthly Employment Situation report at 8:30 am eastern time this morning.

The numbers were really good.

S&P futures are up by 21 points as I;m writing this, in what is doubtless relatively thin holiday trading.

the June figures

The June numbers from the Establishment Survey are:  +195,000 new jobs, comprised of +195,000 in the private sector and a loss of -7,000 in government.  The result compares favorably with economists’ guesses of +165,000.

The strong figure also comes at a time of widespread unease that the government sequester would begin to depress job growth.  Maybe it has.  But the ES figures nevertheless continue to show a US economy that’s steadily strengthening–if somewhat more slowly than we’d like.

check the revisions

They’re also good news.

The April ES survey initially reported a gain of +165,000 jobs during that month.  In the May survey, the April figure was reduced to +149,000.  The June report, which contains the final numbers for April, pencils in +199,000 for that month.

The May ES survey gave the government’s first estimate of job gains for that month as +175,000 new positions.  The June survey ups that to +195,000.

So not only are the June job gains +30,000 better than Wall Street had thought, but there are +70,000 more new people put to work during the prior two months than we’d thought.

flies in the ointment?

There is one.  The situation of the chronically unemployed, about which Fed Chairman Bernanke has become increasingly outspoken, doesn’t seem to have improved at all over the past year.  That’s bad because the longer a person stays without work, the less likely it becomes that he will ever find meaningful employment again.  Other than getting upset, there’s little Mr. Bernanke can do about the situation.  It’s a task for fiscal policy, shaped by Congress and the administration, neither of which shows any inclination to help.