Employment in the United States grew less rapidly than expected in June and is less strong than in May. According to the major monthly jobs report from the US Department of Labor, 209,000 new jobs were added last month in the world’s largest economy.
On Thursday, another, albeit less complete, report on the labour market was powerful.
Economists expected an average of 230,000 new jobs on Friday. In May, there were still a downwardly revised 306,000. The unemployment rate in the US fell to 3.6 percent from 3.7 percent a month earlier.
The government’s jobs report is important for the interest rate policy of the US central banking umbrella Federal Reserve. The Fed paused last month to raise interest rates in the fight against high inflation, but financial markets still expect interest rates to rise later this month. There is fear in the stock market that these rate hikes could trigger an economic recession.
On Thursday, a payslip processor ADP report stated that job growth in the American corporate sector had increased sharply in June. Job growth in June reached its highest level in more than a year, according to ADP figures.
This led to speculation among investors that the Fed will raise interest rates more strongly and that an interest rate cut is not yet in sight. The ADP figures only looked at jobs at companies, and the government figures also included employment at government organizations.
