A retired Ripon College economist says 372,000 jobs in June was a surprise and a sign of resilience despite high inflation and weakening economic growth. Economist Paul Schoofs says the robust hiring has been good for job seeks and led to higher pay for many employees. But it has also helped fuel the highest inflation in four decades. Schoofs says the surprisingly strong gain will likely spur the Federal Reserve to keep sharply raising interest rates to cool the economy and slow price increases. The unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent for a fourth straight month.
