📊 #NFPWatch: June Jobs Snapshot – Headline Beats, Wage Growth Slows
June Jobs Snapshot – Headline Beats, Wage Growth Slows
The U.S. labor market showed resilience in June, adding 147,000 non‑farm jobs—well above the 110,000–111,000 consensus forecast and outperforming May’s upward‑revised 144,000 . Unemployment held steady at 4.1 %, a slight dip from 4.2 % in May, though labor force participation remained unchanged .
Highlights by the Numbers:
Headline Jobs: +147K vs. ~110K expected
Hourly Earnings: +0.2 % mo/mo (+3.7 % yo/y) – slightly softer than forecasts
Workweek Hours: edged down to 34.2, signaling cooling demand for labor
Sector Breakdown:
Strength primarily came from state and local government education (+63K combined) and health care (+39K), while manufacturing, wholesale trade, and professional services showed modest pullbacks .
Market Reaction & Policy Implications:
The beat in jobs lifted the USD, particularly against major currencies, while gold prices eased amid rising rate expectations . However, softer hourly wage data may ease inflation concerns and reduce urgency for aggressive Fed rate hikes .
Takeaway:
June’s NFP report signals a labor market that’s stable—but losing steam. Job growth is decelerating to pre‑pandemic norms, and wage growth is cooling. These dynamics align with expectations for a data‑dependent Federal Reserve, possibly paving the way for rate cuts in upcoming months.
Stay tuned for the July jobs update (due Aug 1, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. ET) to see if the hiring trend continues or turns quieter.
