Quick Facts:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 57,000 and the unemployment rate at 4.2 % changed little in June.
- Employment continued to trend up in professional and business services, social assistance, and health care. Leisure and hospitality lost jobs.
- The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.9 million in June, but is up by 286,000 over the year.
- The number of people employed part time for economic reasons changed little at 4.7 million in June.
Looking Forward:
- Employment figures for June showed the economy continues
to stride past obstacles including the 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. In recent years, economists have remarked with
surprise at the resilience of the American economy. 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 norm.
- Another piece of evidence for a steady U.S. economy comes from car sales data. Cox
Automotive, estimates passenger vehicle sales were down 0.5 percent in the first six
months of 2026 compared to a year earlier and up 4.2 percent in June from June 2025.
- That local government surge that appeared to push up the headline number in May was partially revised away, and the sector was flat this month. The federal government appears to have stopped shrinking after the Trump administration cut 325,000 jobs in 2025. The number of employees has been steady through 2026 so far.
- Although there has been a lot of consternation about the effects of A.I. on employment, the June figures continue to show that the technology is not leading to widespread job losses. The information sector, which includes tech companies, lost 9,000 jobs, but other areas most exposed to A.I.-fueled job losses did not experience any slowdown. Professional and businesses services added 36,000 jobs and employment in financial services was also stable.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – The Employment Situation – June 2026
