Employers added 206,000 jobs in June while the national unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 4.1%, according to a report released on Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
June marked the first time since November 2021 that the national unemployment rate has reached 4.1%. The current jobless rate is now 0.5 percentage points higher than it was in June 2023 but remains significantly below its peak of 14.8% in April 2020 during the early months of the pandemic.
The labor force participation rate, which measures the number of working-age people who have jobs or are looking for work, increased from 62.5% in May to 62.6% in June. This rise suggests that more individuals are entering the labor market, potentially contributing to the slight increase in the unemployment rate.
Job gains in June were concentrated in healthcare (+49,000), government (+70,000), social assistance (+34,000), and construction (+27,000). These four sectors accounted for a combined total of 180,000 out of the 206,000 jobs added last month.
Retail trade employment saw a decline with a loss of 9,000 jobs after showing an upward trend earlier this year. Specific losses included furniture and home furnishings retailers (-6,000) and electronics and appliance retailers (-6,000). However, warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers gained 5,000 jobs.
Professional and business services experienced a reduction of 17,000 jobs in June. Temporary help services employment fell by 49,000 over the month and has decreased by a total of 515,000 since reaching its peak in March 2022. Conversely, employment within professional scientific and technical services continued to grow with an addition of 24,000 jobs.
Employment remained relatively unchanged across other major industries such as manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
Average hourly wages for employees on private payrolls increased by 0.3% to $35 in June. Over the past year, average hourly earnings have risen by approximately 3.9%.
Additionally, the BLS revised downward preliminary employment figures previously reported for April and May by a combined total of 111,000 jobs. Specifically for April's figures were adjusted downwards from an initial estimate of +165,000 to +108 ,and May’s job gains were revised down from +272 ,to +218 ,jobs
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