Bitcoin (BTC) continues to trade sideways around the $27,000 mark as new data reveals better-than-expected US job numbers.
According to an economic news release by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), payroll employment rose by 339,000 in May despite the unemployment rate increasing by 0.3% to 3.7%.
“Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 339,000 in May, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage point to 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Job gains occurred in professional and business services, government, health care, construction, transportation and warehousing, and social assistance.”
Katie Greifeld, an analyst and reporter for BloombergTV, says that the rise in job numbers was much higher than estimated but also notes the job market’s shortcomings in other categories, such as average hourly earnings and the rising unemployment rate.
“*US MAY PAYROLLS INCREASE 339,000; EST. 195,000
but also
*US MAY AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS RISE 4.3% [year over year]; EST. +4.4%
*US MAY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES TO 3.7% VS 3.4%”
According to the BLS report, in May, hundreds of thousands of people in the US either completed temporary jobs or lost the job they already had, leaving them unemployed and offsetting last month’s decreases.
“The number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs increased by 318,000 to 3.0 million in May, offsetting a decrease in the previous month.”
BTC is trading for $27,106 at time of writing, a fractional increase during the last 24 hours.
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