Department of Labor releases closely watched June jobs report.
The U.S. economy added jobs in June at a faster pace than in recent months, despite economic uncertainty stemming from trade, tax and monetary policy.
The Labor Department on Thursday reported that employers added 147,000 jobs in June. That figure was above the estimate of economists polled by LSEG, who projected 110,000 jobs would be added.
The unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.1%, which was lower than economists' expectations of 4.3%.
Job gains in the prior two months were both revised, with job creation in April revised up by 11,000 from a gain of 147,000 to 158,000; and May job gains were revised up by 5,000 from a gain of 139,000 to 144,000. Taken together, employment in April and May was 16,000 jobs higher than previously reported.
Private sector payrolls grew by 74,000 jobs in June, lower than the 105,000 jobs that LSEG economists projected for the private sector.
Government payrolls expanded by a net 73,000 jobs in June across all levels of government. The federal government shed 7,000 jobs, with the sector down 69,000 jobs since a January peak. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that federal employees on paid leave or receiving severance pay are counted as employed in the survey.
State government added 47,000 jobs, mostly in education (+40,300), while local government education employment also rose (+23,200), more than offsetting the decline in federal jobs.