According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 57,000 in June, while the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.2%. Employment continued to trend up in professional and business services, social assistance, and health care, while leisure and hospitality lost jobs. These figures are derived from the two monthly BLS surveys: the household survey, which assesses labour force status and unemployment by demographic characteristics, and the establishment survey, which measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings across industries.

The BLS also noted downward revisions to prior months, with combined April and May employment revised 74,000 lower than previously reported — April from +179,000 to +148,000 and May from +172,000 to +129,000 — reflecting additional reports received from businesses and government agencies and the recalculation of seasonal factors.

Household Survey Data

In June, the unemployment rate held at 4.2%, with approximately 7.1 million individuals unemployed, showing little variation from the previous month or over the year. Unemployment rates across major demographic groups were similarly little changed, with adult men at 3.9%, adult women at 3.7%, teenagers at 14.6%, Whites at 3.6%, Blacks at 6.6%, Asians at 3.9%, and Hispanics at 5.2%.

The number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more stood at 1.9 million in June, little changed over the month but up by 286,000 over the year. Long-term unemployed individuals represented 27.3% of all unemployed persons, underscoring persistent challenges for those facing extended joblessness even as near-term labour market conditions remain relatively steady.

Broader labour force engagement softened somewhat. The labour force participation rate decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 61.5%, and the employment-population ratio edged down by 0.2 percentage point to 59.0%, though both measures showed little year-on-year movement after accounting for annual population control adjustments. The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.7 million, was essentially unchanged, as was the count of discouraged workers at 477,000.

Establishment Survey Data

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 57,000 in June, roughly in line with the average monthly gain of 36,000 over the prior twelve months. Professional and business services continued to trend up with an addition of 36,000 jobs, bringing cumulative gains to 172,000 since a recent low in October 2025. Social assistance added 25,000 jobs, primarily in individual and family services (+17,000), exceeding its average monthly gain of 16,000 over the prior twelve months. Health care continued its upward trend (+22,000), though at a slower pace than its recent average of approximately 38,000 per month, with hospitals contributing 9,000 of those gains.

On the downside, leisure and hospitality shed 61,000 jobs in June, reflecting weaker than usual seasonal hiring, and the industry has shown little net change thus far in 2026. Most other major industries — including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; other services; and government — showed little net change over the month.

Wage growth continued at a measured pace, with average hourly earnings rising 13 cents, or 0.3%, to $37.64, and 3.5% higher than a year earlier. Production and nonsupervisory workers saw a slightly smaller monthly increase of 0.2%, to $32.38. The average workweek was unchanged at 34.3 hours across private nonfarm payrolls, while manufacturing hours edged down to 40.3 hours and the workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees declined by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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