Labour market keeps Fed on track

The U.S. companies increased hiring in June, wages edged higher, while the overall jobless rate held close to a four-year low, as the economy weathered the effect of federal budget cuts and tax hikes, keeping the Federal Reserve on track for tapering the quantitative easing programme in September. Payrolls in the world's largest economy rose by 195,000 workers for a second month in a row, outpacing analysts' expectations for a 165,000 gain, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate stayed at 7.6%, while hourly earnings in the year ended in June soared the most since July 2011. At the same time, private payrolls, which exclude government agencies, jumped 202,000 last month, after a 207,000 increase recorded in the prior month. Data also showed that the improvement was mostly led by retailers, professional and business services, health care as well as leisure and hospitality businesses, which increased payrolls significantly. Manufacturers, however, provided a mixed bag of news, cutting jobs for a fourth month in a row. 

Latest figures may encourage the Federal Reserve to stage an aggressive pullback on its asset-buying programme. Job gains and a solid improvement in housing market are both shoring up Americans' finances, and boosting expectations that the U.S. economy is gaining momentum even despite the so-called sequester.