Statement by U.S. Secretary of Labor Acosta on June Jobs Report

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta issued the following statement on the June 2019 Employment Situation report:

“The June jobs report surpassed expectations adding 224,000 jobs to the economy, totaling 5.6 million jobs created since January 2017.  

“This report included other good news as wages increased at or above 3% year over year for 11 straight months.  Wage growth for production and non-supervisory workers increased 3.4% over the past 12 months.

“The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7% in June, as 335,000 individuals entered the labor force exceeding the population growth by 158,000. The unemployment rate has remained at or below 4% for 16 months in a row. The Asian-American unemployment rate set a new series low at 2.1%.

“We continue to look for increasing investment into America’s workforce through the Pledge to America’s Workers, USMCA, and apprenticeship expansion.”