In June, the U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs to the labor market, far fewer than economists expected and a sharp slowdown from the 172,000 jobs originally reported for May, and May’s just downwardly revised job growth of 129,000. Unemployment dipped slightly to 4.2% from 4.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with much of this decrease being due to a decline in labor force participation rather than a decline in the number of people unemployed.
While the large number of jobs gained in May may have signaled to some that the tides were turning in a slow labor market, Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at Indeed, said that June proves that May “was the exception, not the new rule.”