U.S. hiring slows sharply as employers add 57,000 jobs

U.S. employers added just 57,000 jobs in June, a weaker-than-expected showing that pointed to a slower pace of hiring even as the unemployment rate edged down.

Economists polled by FactSet had forecast a gain of 100,000 jobs. Instead, June produced the lightest month of hiring since February, when the labor market contracted, NBC News reported. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% from 4.3% in May.

The Labor Department also revised job growth sharply lower for the prior two months. April’s hiring total was cut by 31,000 and May’s by 43,000, a combined reduction of 74,000 jobs. The revisions showed that hiring was weaker than previously reported after job gains from February through May had each topped 100,000, according to CBS News.

Revisions are a routine part of the data process and do not mean earlier figures were wrong. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says they primarily reflect “additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates.”

The average monthly change over the last 12 months is now just 36,000 jobs, the BLS said, according to NBC News.

Wage growth also remained below inflation for a third straight month. Average hourly earnings rose 3.5% in June, below the most recent inflation reading of 4.2%.

Job gains were concentrated in a few areas. Professional and business services posted the largest increase, adding 36,000 jobs. Health care added 22,000 jobs, continuing to grow but at a slower pace than its 38,000 average monthly gain over the prior year, the Labor Department said. NBC News reported that health care accounted for almost all overall job growth in 2025 and has remained the primary driver of labor market growth this year.

Leisure and hospitality lost 61,000 jobs in June, a notable decline in a sector economists watch closely because hotel and restaurant activity can signal shifts in consumer spending. CBS News reported that the drop surprised some economists who had expected hiring in the sector to strengthen because of the World Cup.

Other industries showed little movement. The BLS said hiring in oil and gas, construction, manufacturing, retail trade, transportation, financial activities and government “showed little or no change over the month,” according to NBC News.

The report was released on Thursday rather than the usual Friday because U.S. bond and stock markets were set to close Friday, July 3, for the Independence Day observance.

Some economists said the report showed a labor market that remains stable but less vigorous than earlier in the year. Jerry Tempelman, vice president of economic and fixed income research at Mutual of America Capital Management, said hiring has held up despite pressure from inflation and global tensions.

“Geopolitical and inflationary headwinds have had only a minimal effect on slowing or preventing hiring to this point, and payroll growth has already surpassed last year’s pace,” he said in an email.

Others urged caution. The hiring rate has stayed low in recent months, weighing on consumers’ confidence about finding a new job, CBS News reported. JPMorgan Chase economist Abiel Reinhart wrote Wednesday that “there could be a summer slowdown,” noting that the three-month average in private jobs bottomed in August in each of the last two years.

Jennifer Timmerman, senior investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo, said the latest data point more to stabilization than a fresh surge in hiring.

“Overall, we view the broad mosaic of jobs data as consistent with labor-market stabilization from weakness in late 2025, rather than renewed strength,” she said.