Job Gains Signal U.S. Doing Better Than GDP Shows: Economy

Judging by the figures for growth, the U.S. economy is in the doldrums. Labor-market data tell a more positive story.

Payrolls climbed by 202,000 a month on average from January through June, up from 180,000 in the second half of 2012, according to the Labor Department. Such gains are typically linked with gross domestic product growing close to 3 percent, about double what government data may show next week, say economists at UniCredit Group and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.