Key Takeaways
- U.S. employers added 147,000 jobs in June, an improvement from May and higher than economists’ forecasts.
- The unemployment rate declined to 4.1% in June, coming in lower than expected.
- Meanwhile, wages didn’t grow as fast as anticipated.
The jobs market again proved resilient in June, as employers created more jobs than expected, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly turned down.
U.S. employers added 147,000 jobs in June, better than the 110,000 new jobs that was forecasted by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. It’s also an improvement from May, when employers added 139,000 new positions.
The unemployment rate also improved in June, dropping to 4.1%. Economists expected it to rise to 4.3%. Hourly wages grew at a slower rate than expected, rising 0.2% in June for an annual increase of 3.7%.
The positive report comes after the private-sector payroll report for June showed employers cut 33,000 jobs in June.
Meanwhile, initial jobless claims for the week ending June 28 were also better than expected, coming in slightly under projections at 233,000 and the prior week’s levels.