The number of US temp jobs rose by 15,200 in June from May, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, temp jobs edged up only 0.6% year over year.

The temp penetration rate — temp jobs as a percent of total employment — edged up to 2.013% in June from 2.006% in May.

For total nonfarm employment, the US added 287,000 jobs in June. Job growth occurred in leisure and hospitality, healthcare and social assistance, and financial activities. Employment also increased in information, largely reflecting the return of workers from a strike in the telecommunications industry.

“Employment in June showed a solid bounce-back from the disappointing May numbers, as both total nonfarm and temporary help employment reported their greatest monthly gains of 2016,” said Andrew Braswell, CCWP, senior research analyst at Staffing Industry Analysts. “Notable growth in leisure and hospitality jobs as well as retail trade sector jobs suggests that consumer demand is holding strong.”

Reuters reports the economy created the most jobs in eight months in June as factories and retailers boosted hiring, confirming the economy has regained speed after a first-quarter lull. However, tepid wage growth could see the Federal Reserve still cautious about hiking interest rates.

Bloomberg reports the increase exceeded the highest estimate in its survey of economists; the median forecast in the survey called for a 180,000 increase.

“If you take the last three months and smooth these numbers out — which is really what you should do — employment conditions are improving, but there’s no question there’s, to some extent, a slowdown in the improvement,” Bloomberg quoted Hugh Johnson, chairman at Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC in Albany, NY, whose forecast for payrolls was the closest in the Bloomberg survey. “That’s to be expected when you reach what I would argue is full employment.”

The US unemployment rate rose to 4.9% in June from 4.7% in May. The college-level unemployment rate — which can serve as a proxy for professional employment — edged up to 2.5% from 2.4%.

The increase in the unemployment rate in June did not entirely surprise The Conference Board after the 0.3 percentage point drop in May, according to Gad Levanon, its chief economist for North America.

“If employment continues to grow by about 150,000 a month, which is the rate in the past two months, the unemployment rate will continue to decline,” said Levanon. “The year-over-year wage growth continues to climb, reflecting an economy moving towards normal labor market tightness.”

Levanon continued: “Following a disappointing (and downwardly revised) 11,000 jobs gained in May, the economy generated a whopping 287,000 jobs in June. The good news is that this moderates the slowdown in job growth that many expected, which will provide some relief to jittery financial markets. However, the larger story remains a gradually weakening economy and moderating employment growth.”

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