RJ and Makay

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117,000 non-farm jobs were added to the U.S. economy in June, and the unemployment rate ticked down one percentage point to 9.1%, the Labor Department reported.  The positive report brought some calm to a jittery market that saw a 512 point decline in the Dow Jones the day before. Employers hired more people than economists had expected but the gain was not at levels needed for a sustained jobs recovery.

Good news from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL): In February, businesses posted the largest number of job openings in more than two years, suggesting hiring is on the rise.

According to the DOL, employers advertised 3.1 million jobs in February, the most since September 2008 (the height of the financial crisis). Competition for jobs remains intense, though it has eased a bit. There were 4.4 people, on average, competing for each available job in February, down from nearly 7 per job in July 2009. Two applicants per job is considered a sign of a healthy economy.

Employment gains last month handily beat forecasts, suggest job figures just released by ADP Employer Services. According to ADP, private employers in the U.S. added 187,000 jobs in January — 47,000 more than the 140,000 economists expected. The ADP report is based on data from about 340,000 businesses employing more than 21 million workers.

ADP's findings are likely to conflict with a pending U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) report, however. The DOL report, due out in two days, is expected to show the U.S. actually did add about 140,000 new jobs in January and that unemployment rose to 9.5%.