Economics

• The economy added 57,000 jobs in June, with nearly all job growth coming from health care and social assistance.
• The unemployment rate edged down to 4.2 percent, but the employment-to-population ratio fell to its lowest level since June 2021.
• Prime-age employment declined sharply, especially among men, signaling potential weakness in the labor market despite low unemployment.
• Wage growth slowed to 3.5 percent year over year, lagging recent inflation and reflecting softer labor demand.
• Hotels, restaurants, insurance, and motion picture industries lost jobs, while women accounted for more than all net payroll job growth.
• There is still no evidence of an AI-driven jobs apocalypse, as productivity growth remains modest and concentrated job gains point to a cooling — not collapsing — labor market.