Jobs Report Shows Hiring Eased Slightly in June

Hiring eased slightly in June, as employers added 209,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6%.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimated U.S. employers added 240,000 jobs in June and that the unemployment rate ticked down to a historically low 3.6%.

Companies adding workers and raising wages keep upward pressure on inflation, which complicates the Federal Reserve’s efforts to weaken price pressures by slowing the economy through higher interest rates. 

“The job market has been surprisingly strong in 2023,” said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. “People who have lost jobs in tech or real estate have been able to find new jobs very quickly in industries that are still short-handed.” 

At the start of the year, many economists forecast that the Fed’s rate increases would cause a recession by midyear and hiring to ease.