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1stLD Writethru: U.S. economy adds 223,000 jobs in June, jobless rate down to 5.3 pct

Xinhua, July 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent compared to 5.5 percent in the previous month, said the Labor Department on Thursday.

The Labor Department revised down the job gains in April and May by a total of 60,000 than previously reported. From April to June, job gains have averaged 221,000 per month.

The number of long-term unemployed, or those who remained jobless for 27 weeks or more, declined by 381,000 to 2.1 million in June. The labor force participation rate, the share of the working-age population employed or looking for a job, declined by 0.3 percentage point to 62.6 percent in the month. Average hourly earnings were unchanged at 24.95 U.S. dollars in June. Over the year, the figure has risen by 2 percent, the same rate in recent years.

The decline in labor participation rate and the flat wage growth suggest lingering weakness in the labor market.

Stanley Fischer, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, said recently that the U.S. economy is now close to full employment, and there are grounds for optimism that economic growth will be sufficient to promote further gains in labor market conditions. Endi