July Jobs Report: on track for best job growth since 1999

Earlier this year during the “winter doldrums,” there was some concern about the staying power of the economic recovery. There was a modest decline in GDP during the first quarter, largely blamed on an unusually harsh winter. Economists predicted the economy would bounce back in the spring and summer. It turns out they were right. Bouncing Back, Economy Grew 4% in Second Quarter.

And despite the “winter doldrums” in the economy, the jobs recovery continued unabated at a steady pace. Steve Benen reports on the July jobs report today. Job creation tops 200k for sixth straight month:

The new report from Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July. The overall unemployment rate ticked slightly higher to 6.2% — still hovering around a six-year low. (This is one of those times when an uptick is good news, not bad, since more people are entering the workforce looking for jobs.)

Once again, public-sector layoffs did not drag down the overall employment figures. Though jobs reports over the last few years have shown monthly government job losses, in July, the private sector added 198,000 while the public sector added 11,000. The latter may not sound like much, but after several years in which that total was negative, it’s at least somewhat heartening.

Perhaps most strikingly, the U.S. economy has now added over 200,000 jobs per month for six consecutive months. The last time Americans saw results like these? Way back in 1997.

As for the revisions, May’s totals were revised up from 224,000 to 229,000, while June’s figures were also revised up, from 288,000 to 298,000. Combined, that’s an additional 15,000 jobs.

Overall, this is a good-but-not-great report, though the jobs landscape is nevertheless steadily improving. All told, over the last 12 months, the U.S. economy has added over 2.57 million jobs overall and 2.48 million in the private sector. What’s more, July was the 53rd consecutive month in which we’ve seen private-sector job growth – the longest on record.

At this point, with the year about half over, 2014 is currently on track to be the best year for U.S. job creation since 1999.

Above you’ll find the chart I run every month, showing monthly job losses since the start of the Great Recession.

Here’s another chart, this one showing monthly job losses/gains in just the private sector since the start of the Great Recession.

Finally, Greg Sargent of the Washington Post reports, “A new CNN poll shows that the percentage of Americans who rate economic conditions as “good” has steadily risen this year to the highest point of the Obama presidency. While that number is still only 41-58, if the trend continues, it could conceivably shift the overall political environment — even just marginally — in ways that make it slightly easier for embattled Senate Dem incumbents to hang on.”