US unemployment rate rises

The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up two-tenths of a point to 4.9 percent in June.

During the month, employers added 287,000 jobs to the economy, led by leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance, and information, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release.

The leisure and hospitality industry’s payroll ranks moved up by 59,000 last month, with food services and drinking places adding 22,000 jobs and performing arts and spectator sports creating 14,000 positions.

Health care and social assistance employers added 58,000 jobs in June, largely due to 39,000 positions in health care, such as ambulatory services and hospitals, according to the release.

Information employment rose by 44,000 last month, mostly due to 28,000 telecommunications workers returning from a strike, according to the BLS.

Offsetting industries including mining, down 6,000, while construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and government changed little or not at all.

At the end of June, 7.8 million people were unemployed, an increase of 347,000. The bump nearly offset declines in May, according to the release.