The New York Times: U.S. Adds 287,000 Jobs in June

With the Republican and Democratic national conventions just weeks away, the government reported on Friday that employers added 287,000 workers in June, a vigorous rebound that helps sets the stage for the economic themes advanced by the presidential nominees.

The official unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent, from 4.7 percent. And after three months of rising wages, average hourly earnings ticked up again.

The unexpectedly grim initial employment report in May was disturbing enough to convince every voting member of the Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee last month to oppose any increase in its benchmark interest rate, as the official account of the meeting, released this week, revealed.

That jobs report, combined with Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, has fanned wider worries that the American economy is in danger of stalling.

Concerns about the vitality of the recovery — which is in its seventh month — persist, but economists pointed to several encouraging signs, like manufacturing and consumer spending data.