The US economy added just 57,000 jobs in June, a dramatic slowdown from May’s revised figure of 129,000 and barely half of what analysts had penciled in. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3%, offering a small silver lining in an otherwise grim labor market snapshot.
The numbers tell a complicated story
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June Employment Situation report on July 2, and the headline number landed with a thud. Economists had forecast roughly 110,000 new nonfarm payroll positions. They got 57,000.
ADP’s employment report showed just 98,000 private payroll jobs added in June. That number also fell short of the 110,000 consensus forecast.
May’s numbers were revised upward to 129,000 from an initially reported 172,000. June’s figure brings job growth uncomfortably close to the 12-month average of approximately 36,000, a number that reflects just how much the labor market has cooled over the past year.
