Employers added 206,000 jobs in June and the national unemployment rate ticked upward by 0.1 percentage point to 4.1%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.
June marked the first time that the national unemployment rate has risen to 4.1% since November of 2021. The jobless rate is now 0.5 percentage points higher than it was in June of 2023, but far below its peak of 14.8% in April in 2020 during the early months of the pandemic.
The labor force participation rate – the number of working-age people who have jobs or are looking for work – increased from 62.5% in May to 62.6% in June, which is a sign that the corresponding 0.1 percentage point rise in the unemployment rate last month could be because more people are entering the labor market.
Job gains in June were largely in healthcare (+49,000), government (+70,000), social assistance (+34,000) and construction (+27,000). Combined these four sectors accounted for 180,000 out of the 206,000 jobs added last month, according to the BLS report.
Retail trade employment lost 9,000 jobs in June after trending up earlier in the year. Furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliance retailers lost 6,000 jobs over the month, while warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers gained 5,000 jobs.
Professional and business services lost 17,000 jobs in June. Temporary help services employment declined by 49,000 over the month and is down by 515,000 since reaching a peak in March 2022. Employment in professional, scientific, and technical services continued to trend up in June, adding 24,000 jobs.
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including manufacturing, wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; leisure and hospitality; and other services, the BLS said.
In June average hourly wages for employees on private payrolls increased 0.3% to $35. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9%.
The June jobs report also revised downward the preliminary employment figures previously reported for April and May by a combined 111,000 jobs. Specifically, April’s job numbers were revised downward by 57,000 jobs from 165,000 to 108,000. May’s job gains were revised downward by 54,000 jobs from 272,000 to 218,000.
