By YOUNG MONEY Staff
8 July 2011

The future of the U.S. economy remains somewhat in doubt, but June showed major improvement in certain areas of employment, according to The Financial Times.

The latest ADP National Employment Report found that the private sector in the U.S. added as many as 157,000 jobs in June, compared to only 54,000 in May. The gains shocked many analysts, who generally predicted gains of less than half that amount. Total employment gains were more modest, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting only an additional 18,000 positions.

"This month's jobs figures are a significant improvement over May's, particularly in light of last quarter's disappointing 1.9 percent GDP growth," ADP chief executive Gary Butler noted. "Given such strong employment results despite poor GDP, I am optimistic we will see improving job growth in the second half of the year."

This contrasts sharply with the recent column for Bloomberg by U.S. Business and Industry Council research fellow Alan Tonelson, who argued that U.S. economic recovery has been largely illusory. He argued that most gains stemmed from education, healthcare and other areas that are heavily subsidized by the government. By contrast, education and healthcare combined for no change in June, according to the BLS.