US jobs gain largest in 10 months; employers raise wages, sweeten perks

With employment not expected to return to its pre-pandemic level until sometime in 2022, rising wages are unlikely to worry Federal Reserve officials even as inflation is heating up because of supply constraints. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has repeatedly said he expects high inflation will be transitory.(People lining up to file for unemployment benefits - File pic)

WASHINGTON: U.S. companies hired the most workers in 10 months in June, raising wages and offering incentives to entice millions of unemployed Americans sitting at home, in a tentative sign that a labor shortage hanging over the economy was starting to ease.

The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday showed 151, 000 people entered the labor force last month, though the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one did not budge from the tight range it has been in since June 2020.