The labor market in the US remained strong in June, although job growth cooled as expected, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The US economy added 206,000 jobs, which is lower than the revised May tally of 215,000. However, economists had predicted that employers would add only 190,000 jobs and the unemployment rate would remain at 4%.
The largest chunk of job gains were in the public sector with 70,000 jobs added specifically in local government excluding education. The health care industry also added 48,600 positions. Despite this, wage growth cooled as predicted with average hourly earnings rising only 0.1% for the month and slowing to an annual rate of 3.9%. This story is still developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.