The U.S. added 147,000 jobs in June, soundly beating estimates and offering a welcome sign that the economy remains in relatively solid shape.
The unemployment rate fell from 4.2% to 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The job gains for April and May were revised up by a combined 16,000.
June’s increases were led by roles in state and local government education, which added 63,500 positions, with state and local roles overall accounting for half of all job gains for the month. Healthcare and social assistance added another 58,600, while leisure and hospitality grew by 20,000 and construction gained 15,000.
Employment declined in the federal government, professional services and manufacturing.
Yet there are signs that it remains difficult for those who’ve been out of work to land a job. The number of long-term unemployed people increased by 190,000 to 1.6 million, largely offsetting a decrease in the prior month.
The median and average unemployment duration climbed back to near pandemic-era highs, with the share of those out of work for 15 weeks or more jumping from 34.9% to 38.3%, reversing a downtrend over the last six months.
Stock futures rallied in pre-market trading even as traders dialed back the odds of an interest rate cut in July by the Federal Reserve, something President Donald Trump has continued to call for.
Consumers and businesses are still grappling with the uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariff policies, which are contributing to volatile economic data.
On one hand, the inflation rate has so far proven stable, while average earnings continue to grow at a healthy clip. Stocks have returned to all-time highs, and in testimony last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described overall economic conditions as “solid.”
“Look at labor force participation, look at wages, look at job creation,” Powell said. “They’re all at healthy levels now. I would say you can see perhaps a very, very slow continued cooling but nothing that’s troubling at this time.”
On the other hand, Powell’s assertions have not sat well with Trump, who has continued to harangue him to lower interest rates. On Wednesday evening, the president said Powell should “resign immediately.”
Commentary from U.S. firms and various other data points paint a more worrisome portrait of the economy. The latest survey of manufacturers from the Institute for Supply Chain Management found some firms describing the business environment as “hellacious”…
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