Job Growth Slows

This is bad news, via the WSJ (subscription):

The pace of job growth in the U.S. slowed for the first time in four months in June and fell short of expectations, catching Wall Street off guard.

Nonfarm business payrolls grew by a net 112,000 jobs last month, raising this year’s total to slightly more than a million, the Labor Department said Friday.

The June payroll gain was less than half the 250,000 that economists had expected, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC. It was also below the 150,000 monthly additions that economists say are necessary to keep the job market stable.

Also, employers added 35,000 fewer jobs than previously thought in April and May. The job creation nevertheless drew previously discouraged workers back into the civilian labor force, expanding it by 305,000 to 147.3 million in June. The unemployment rate, as a result, held steady at 5.6%.

This reinforces my contention (and Kash’s) the other day that the most recent rate hike may have been premature.

AB