Closely watched US jobs report likely to show hiring slowed in June

(RNS, 03-07-25) The steady slowdown in US hiring likely continued in June as President Donald Trump's trade wars, federal hiring freeze and immigration crackdown weighed on the American job market.

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When the Labor Department on Thursday releases job numbers for last month, they're expected to show that businesses, government agencies and nonprofits added 115,000 jobs in June, down from 139,000 in May, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

The unemployment rate is expected to have ticked up to 4.3%, which would be the highest since October 2021 but still low enough to suggest that most American workers continue to enjoy job security.

The US job market has cooled considerably from red-hot days of 2021-2023 when the economy bounced back with unexpected strength from COVID-19 lockdowns and companies were desperate for workers.

So far this year employers have added an average 124,000 jobs a month, down from 168,000 in 2024 and an average 400,000 from 2021 through 2023.