The U.S. added 209,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate dipped to 3.6 percent, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.
Economists expected the U.S. to add roughly 240,000 jobs last month and for the jobless rate to fall to 3.6 percent, according to consensus estimates, down from 3.7 percent in May.
Despite persistent recession warnings and rapid Federal Reserve rate hikes, the U.S. economy has remained sturdy throughout 2023.
The U.S. has added an average of 278,000 jobs per month this year, down from 399,000 per month in 2022 but well above the level needed to keep the economy growing.
Wage growth has also remained strong, with earnings rising 4.4 percent over the past 12 months and outpacing the annual inflation rate of 3.6 percent, according to the Labor Department.
The resilIence of the economy has spurred optimism among policymakers eager for the U.S. to escape high inflation without the blow of a recession.
“There is a path to getting inflation back down to 2 percent without having to see the kind of sharp downturn and large losses in employment,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last month after the central bank paused a run of 10 consecutive rate hikes.
Even so, Fed officials are almost certain to resume interest rate hikes when the bank’s rate-setting committee meets in July. While the Federal Open Market Committee unanimously agreed to hold off on rate hikes last month, several officials privately advocated for another increase in June.
Updated at 9:03 a.m. ET.