Hiring in June exceeds expectations and unemployment falls to 4.1%

The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in June, and the unemployment rate dropped, according to government data released Thursday. The report eased concerns about the labor market amid tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

The world’s largest economy added 147,000 jobs in June, exceeding the 110,000 expected by market analysts, according to a MarketWatch average.

The unemployment rate stood at 4.1%, below specialists’ expectations of 4.3%. In May, it was 4.2%.

Although the country maintains a strong labor market that allows Americans to keep spending, Trump’s broad tariffs—including those on steel, aluminum, and automobiles—have put consumers on edge and created a climate of distrust among some business leaders.

With some of the tariffs announced by Trump potentially going into effect next week, analysts are closely watching the possible impact on the labor market.

Other labor data

In June, state governments and the healthcare sector added jobs. In contrast, the federal government continued its recent trend of reducing its workforce, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The federal government cut 7,000 jobs in June, bringing the total job losses to 69,000 since January, when Trump took office, the report added.

On the other hand, wage growth slowed. While wages increased by 0.4% in May compared to the previous month, the rise slowed to 0.2% in June.

Wages rose 3.7% year-over-year in June, marking a slowdown compared to the previous month.