June Jobs Report Shows US Labor Market Making Slower but Steady Gains

Employment figures show that the American economy continues to stride past obstacles, including the inflationary pressures of the war with Iran.

Employers added 57,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent the previous month, data from the Labor Department showed on Thursday. The unemployment rate has been at or below 4.5 percent since October 2021, the longest streak since the late 1960s.

The report was the latest good showing for the American economy, which experts have characterized as surprisingly resilient, again and again, in recent years. At the midpoint of 2026, with the volatility caused by President Trump’s tariff hikes mostly baked in and the war with Iran potentially winding down, economic durability may be the emerging norm.

The number of jobs added in June were about half that of the previous month, but still represented around what most economists assume is “the trend level of job growth,” said Jason Draho, an economist and the head of asset allocation for the Americas at UBS.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/business/economy/jobs-report-employment.html