June Jobs Report Misses Big at 57K as Unemployment Drops to 4.2%; April, May Payrolls Cut by 74K
- The BLS reported the U.S. added just 57,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in June, well below the ~110K consensus, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2% from 4.3%—a drop analysts called 'mechanical' as the labor force participation rate fell to 61.5%.
- Prior-month revisions were substantial: April payrolls were cut by 31,000 and May by 43,000, a combined two-month downgrade of 74,000 jobs.
- Gains were concentrated in professional and business services (+36K), social assistance (+25K), and healthcare (+22K), while leisure and hospitality shed 61K jobs due to weak seasonal hiring—a setup likely to amplify bets on a Fed rate cut despite a still-resilient unemployment rate.