US Economy Added 57,000 Jobs In June, Hospitality And Leisure See Sharp Decline

The US economy added just 57,000 jobs in June, while wage growth was below inflation for the third consecutive month, according to new government data.

This new report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics comes just before what some economists say will likely be a summer slowdown, as per NBC.

Nonfarm payrolls for the month of June rose by a seasonally adjusted 57,000 for the month, worse than the 115,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast. The payroll rise was slower than the downwardly revised 129,000 jobs added in the month of May.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2%. This was largely due to a slump in the labour force participation rate, which fell by 0.3 percentage points to 61.5%, the lowest since March 2021, as per CNBC.

June was the lowest month of hiring since February, when the labour market shrank. The report also included downward revisions for prior months, with  hiring in April slashed by 31,000. For May, the number of payrolls was cut by 43,000.

Household employment also fell during June, with 507,000 fewer people reported at work.

Average hourly earnings at $37.64 were in line with the consensus forecasts, rising 0.3% for the month and 3.5% compared to a year ago.

Leisure And Hospitality, Entertainment Sectors Show Sharp Fall

Jobs in movies and music dropped by 3,600 in June to 321,700. Employment in the broadcast and content provider segment rose by 1,400, to 336,900.

Professional and business services contributed the most to payroll gains, with a rise of 36,000. Jobs in health care employment increased by 22,000, which was slower-than-normal for the industry. Government jobs saw a gain of 8,000 while social assistance added 25,000 workers.

The leisure and hospitality sector reported a loss of 61,000 jobs, reflecting slower than usual seasonal hiring. Earlier, it was estimated that the World Cup 2026 would boost the payroll numbers.

The US labour market has spent the last three months trying to get back on track after several months of net job losses towards the end of 2025.

The report comes as Federal Reserve policymakers have expressed mixed feelings about the economy, with concerns over inflation This jobs report could change their view of the labour market.

While Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh has declined to provide any “forward guidance” on interest rate policy, markets expect a rate hike of a quarter percentage point in September.