US economy added 57,000 jobs in June, below expectations

The U.S. economy added 57,000 non-farm payroll jobs in June, well below the 115,000 forecast by economists, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2% from 4.3% in May. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also revised down April and May employment gains by a total of 74,000 jobs, indicating a cooling labor market Source: portafolioco; diariolibre.

Sector Breakdown

Job gains were concentrated in healthcare (+22,000) and social assistance (+25,000), while leisure and hospitality lost 61,000 positions despite the FIFA World Cup being hosted in the U.S. that month Source: infobae; elpaises. Professional and business services added 36,000 jobs, but manufacturing grew only modestly (+3,000) and information services lost 9,000 Source: infobae.

Policy and Inflation Context

The weak jobs report comes amid elevated inflation — the consumer price index rose to 4.2% in May — driven partly by the U.S. conflict with Iran, which has pushed up energy costs Source: lavanguardia. Average hourly earnings rose 3.5% year-over-year, trailing inflation by 0.7 percentage points, meaning workers have lost purchasing power Source: lajornadamx. The Federal Reserve is now less likely to raise interest rates at its September meeting, with markets pricing in a roughly 50% probability of a hike, down from earlier expectations Source: infobae. Analysts consider the data a normalization after three months of strong gains, not a cause for alarm Source: elpaises.