GOOD NEWS: JOBS UP 176,000 in June

ADP reports that the private sector added 176,000 jobs in June compared to a revised increase of 136,000 jobs in May.  Most (160,000) of the new jobs created in June were added in the service sector.  The ADP June report is considerably better than the 100,000 new jobs analysts expected in June.

Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, says of the June numbers:

The gain in private employment is strong enough to suggest that the national unemployment rate may have declined in June.

Today’s estimate, if reinforced by a comparable reading on employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics tomorrow, likely will ease concerns that the economy is heading into a downturn…

There seems little doubt that recent employment gains have been restrained by heightened uncertainty over the European financial crisis and by growing concerns about domestic fiscal policy. However, the acceleration of employment since April does lend credence to the argument that unseasonably warm weather boosted employment during the winter months, with a ‘payback’ spread over April and May.

If the Bureau of Labor Statistics report comes anywhere near matching the ADP numbers, it will be a good sign that the recovery is continuing which will be a boost to Obama's re-election prospects.  We'll know sometime tomorrow morning.