U.S. Job Growth Slows in June as Unemployment Holds at 4.2%

U.S. job growth cooled in June as employers added 57,000 positions and the unemployment rate held nearly steady at 4.2 percent.

Unemployment rates across major demographic groups were largely flat in June, including adult men (3.9 percent), adult women (3.7 percent), and teenagers (14.6 percent). Rates also changed little for White (3.6 percent), Black (6.6 percent), Asian (3.9 percent), and Hispanic (5.2 percent) workers.

The number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more held at 1.9 million in June, but that figure has climbed by 286,000 over the past year. Long‑term job seekers now account for 27.3 percent of all unemployed. 

Another 6.0 million people were outside the labor force but said they currently want a job, a pool that is not counted in the official unemployment rate because they are not actively looking or available to start work. 

Labor force participation slipped 0.3 percentage point to 61.5 percent, and the employment‑population ratio edged down to 59.0 percent.The number of people working part time for economic reasons, those who would prefer full‑time work but cannot get it, was flat at 4.7 million. 

Among people not in the labor force who said they wanted a job, 1.8 million were classified as marginally attached to the labor force, meaning they had looked for work at some point in the past 12 months but not in the four weeks before the survey. Within that group, discouraged workers, who believe no jobs are available for them, were 477,000.

Hiring in June was uneven across industries. Professional and business services added 36,000 jobs and have gained 172,000 positions since hitting a recent low in October 2025. Social assistance employment grew by 25,000. Health care added 22,000 jobs, continuing its upward trend but growing more slowly than its 12‑month average monthly gain of 38,000. Leisure and hospitality were the weak spot, shedding 61,000 jobs as seasonal hiring came in below typical patterns.

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 13 cents in June, a 0.3 percent increase that brought the average to $37.64. Over the past year, average hourly pay is up 3.5 percent. For production and nonsupervisory workers, average hourly earnings increased by 7 cents (0.2 percent) to $32.38 in June. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised April’s payroll gain down from 179,000 to 148,000 and May’s from 172,000 to 129,000.