Employment Growth Exceeded Expectations in June, Led by State Government

Employment grew in June at about the same rate it’s been increasing over the past year, with gains in state government and health care and losses in federal government.

The month’s increase in nonfarm payroll employment was gauged at 147,000, which was in line with the 12-month average monthly gain of 146,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said in its Employment Situation Summary released Thursday (July 3).

State government added 47,000 jobs in June, with 40,000 of them being in education, according to the summary. Employment in health care increased by 39,000, local government education was up by 23,000, and social assistance rose by 19,000.

Federal government saw a loss of 7,000 jobs during the month, continuing a trend that has seen the sector lose 69,000 since January, the summary said.

Employment in other major industries showed little change in June, per the summary.

The unemployment rate was gauged at 4.1% in June, a figure that remained in the range of 4% to 4.2% that has been seen since May 2024, according to the summary.

The number of unemployed people stood at 7 million, which was little changed from the previous month, per the summary.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday that the rate of job growth surprised the economists it polled, as they had expected a gain of 110,000 jobs. The WSJ noted that the growth was concentrated in state and local government and health care and said that other sectors were either flat or lost jobs.

CNBC, too, reported that the increase was more than expected, with the labor market showing “surprising resilience.” The report added that few gains were seen outside the sectors highlighted in the BLS summary: state and local government, health care and social assistance.

America’s Credit Unions Senior Economist Dawit Kebede said in a statement provided to PYMNTS that the June labor market report “exceeded expectations.”

“The robust employment picture supports the Federal Reserve’s cautious approach of waiting for more data on inflation before cutting rates,” Kebede said. “Markets also assign a low probability to a July rate cut. This solid labor market environment helps credit union members maintain loan affordability and on-time payment.”