JULY 10, 2023 — 209,000 NEW JOBS CREATED IN JUNE
The US economy added 209,000 jobs in June, below expectations of 240,000 jobs, this after the 306,000 new jobs created in May. This is the lowest number of new jobs added since December 2020. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent from 3.7 percent in May, while average hourly wages were up 0.4 percent for the month and 4.4 percent year-over-year.
Indications are the labor market is finally starting to return to more “normal” levels, but there are no real signals a recession is imminent. The Fed has been on a run of raising rates in order to curb inflation, but it has remained stubborn despite the economic tightening.
This decline in unemployment is likely not enough to derail another quarter-percent rise in interest rates at the Fed’s meeting July 25-26. The benchmark rate is now between 5 and 5.25 percent, a 16-year high. The Fed has indicated it is expecting to raise rates two more times in 2023.