The US economy added 57,000 nonfarm payrolls in June, below Wall Street
forecasts, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday. The gain followed three
months of upside surprises and fell sharply from May’s downward-revised 129,000;
it was also below the Bloomberg survey median of 115,000. The report signals a
marked cooling in the labor market; the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2%
from 4.3% in May. Despite the slowdown, payroll gains remain well above a 2025
target of average 10,000 annual job additions. Investors cut Fed tightening
expectations, the dollar weakened, and futures now price a Fed rate increase in
December, versus October previously.
