Economy added 206,000 jobs in June; jobless rate rises to 4.1%

The U.S. economy created 206,000 new jobs in June, edging out expectations from Dow Jones economists. Still, new entries into the workforce sent the unemployment rate leaping to its highest percentage since 2021.

Some experts said the topsy-turvy news from the Labor Department monthly jobs report Friday still could give the Federal Reserve a lot to think about when considering cutting interest rates in September. Wall Street predicted that 200,000 jobs had been created in June.

The June nonfarm payroll total is below the 218,000 jobs created in May, which was revised downward Friday from the 272,000 originally reported last month. The report said April's jobs figure was revised down as well.

"With these revisions, employment in April and May combined is 111,000 lower than previously reported," the Labor Department said. "Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from recalculations of seasonal factors."

Despite the revisions, the job totals represent the 42nd straight month of job growth for the U.S. economy, but the 4.1% unemployment rate -- created by more people getting off the sidelines and looking for jobs --marks the first time it passed the 4% average since November 2021.

"We have more work to do but wages are growing faster than prices and more Americans are joining the workforce, with the highest share of working-age Americans in the workforce in over 20 years," President Joe Biden said in a White House statement Friday.

"That's real progress for hardworking families who have the dignity and respect that comes with earning a paycheck and putting food on the table."

According to CNN, Wall Street showed little reaction to the jobs report early, with all three markets showing a slight bump up in morning trading.

"Federal Reserve officials have become increasingly focused on the downside risks to the labor market and the June data bolsters our forecast for the Fed to cut interest rates in September and at every other meeting thereafter," said Nancy Vander Houten, U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, according to CBS News.