In June, the US economy added 206,000 jobs, which was below expectations but above the previous month. This suggested a possible slowdown in labor demand in the largest economy in the world. The May numbers were revised down from an initial mark of 272,000 to 218,000, while April’s figures were also lowered by 57,000 to 108,000.
According to data from the Labor Department, economists had expected the June number to be around 191,000. Kathy Jones, Chief Fixed Income Strategist at Charles Schwab, commented on social media that the job market is slowing down due to the big downward revisions in previous months. The biggest job gains were seen in the education and health services sectors, which offset losses in retail trade and mining and logging.
The unemployment rate inched up to 4.1%, the highest level since November 2021. The month-on-month wage growth slowed slightly to 0.3% from 0.4%, in line with estimates. Data earlier in the week indicated that private payroll additions had eased and the quits rate, a measure of labor market confidence, remained steady, suggesting a potential decrease in wage pressures.
If fewer people are entering the job market
