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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers likely hired at another strong pace in June.
Economists surveyed by the data firm FactSet believe employers added 233,000 jobs in June and that the jobless rate dipped to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent in May. The federal government releases unemployment figures this morning.
For the first five months of 2015, monthly job growth has averaged 217,000, a healthy streak that is steadily absorbing the unemployed as well as part-time workers looking for more hours.
The job gains are also showing tentative signs of finally forcing up wages, which have remained stagnant for many Americans during the 6-year-old economic recovery. Pay is now rising for some because employers have been forced to offer higher wages to attract qualified employees.
Those trends have raised economists' expectations that the Fed will soon raise the key short-term rate it controls in September or, if not, in December.
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