By admin 
Job growth slowed in June to an increase of 57,000 after three straight months of gaining more than 100,000, according to a new report released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Job gains were also revised down from 172,000 to 129,000 for May, and from 179,000 to 148,000 for April.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% — the lowest since June 2025, when it was 4.1%.
The jobs increases were especially weak considering that the men’s World Cup soccer tournament likely added 40,000 jobs in June, said Elise Gould, senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, in a statement. Gould said the unemployment rate drop was “for the wrong reasons” as 720,000 people left the labor market.
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The industries adding the most jobs in June were business and professional services (36,000 jobs), social assistance (up 25,000 jobs) and healthcare (22,000 jobs).
There was a drop of 61,000 jobs in leisure and hospitality jobs, reflecting weaker-than-usual seasonal hiring for the summer, the BLS said.
Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at [email protected].
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Alaska Beacon, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
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