Investing.com — The U.S. economy added more jobs that anticipated in June, although the figure was lower than the prior month, pointing to a possible cooling in labor demand in the world’s largest economy.
came in at 206,000 last month, down from 218,000 in May, according to Labor Department data on Friday. The May reading was also revised down heavily from an initial mark of 272,000, while April’s was lowered by 57,000 to 108,000.
Economists had seen the June number at 191,000.
“The June rise in nonfarm payroll was slightly higher than expectations, but the big downward revisions to April and May are the story. Job market is slowing down,” said Kathy Jones, Chief Fixed Income Strategist at Charles Schwab (NYSE:), in a post on social media platform X.
The biggest job increases were in the education and health services sectors, which helped offset losses in retail trade and mining and logging.
Meanwhile, the inched up to 4.1%, the highest level since Nevember 2021 and above expectations that it would match the May pace of 4.0%. Month-on-month slowed slightly to 0.3% from 0.4%, in line with estimates.
Data earlier this week showed that private payroll additions eased last month and the quits rate — a gauge of labor market confidence — held steady, suggesting possibly waning wage pressures.
In theory, steam leaving the jobs market — and, by extension, wages — could contributed to an easing in inflation. Moderating price gains would, in turn, support hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates down from more than two-decade highs in 2024.
The central bank has signaled that it plans to reduce borrowing costs just once this year, as policymakers hunt for more evidence that inflation is sustainably falling back to their 2% target.