June jobs report: US labor market is on track to full recovery

“Average hourly earnings grew at a vigorous 3.6% year-over-year pace, which we believe could exacerbate pricing pressures currently present in the economy,” Duncan said. “Finally, we note that residential construction employment (including specialty trade contractors) rose by 15,200 last month, a more robust pace than in recent months, and a welcome sign for a sector facing severe supply constraints.”

Kushi added that construction employment was crucial in speeding up the pace of housing starts and increasing the housing stock.

“While residential building construction employment has steadily increased and even outpaced its pre-COVID level, overall construction employment is still 3.1% below its February 2020 level,” she said. “Attracting skilled labor remains a key priority for construction firms in months to come. Also important to note that employment for remodelers increased by 12,700 this month. Overall, a strong report for residential construction. More hammers, more homes.”

There were also notable job gains in leisure and hospitality (+343,000), public and private education (+114,000), professional and business services (+72,000), retail trade (+67,000 jobs), and other sectors.

“As expected, gains were concentrated in the service-providing segment, which added 642,000 jobs, and in the leisure and hospitality sector, with 343,000 jobs gained, both welcome signs for the segments of the economy hit hardest by the pandemic,” Duncan said. “One caveat to the strong job growth seen in this report is that some gains may have been overstated due to a distorted seasonal pattern; in particular, the 268,300 jobs added across the state, local, and private education sectors, which were likely affected by an abnormal seasonal pattern of returning to in-person education.”