Payroll Growth Slows, While Manufacturing Adds Jobs

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 57,000 in June, coming in below expectations. Meanwhile, April’s job gain was revised downward by 31,000 to a gain of 148,000, while May’s job gain was revised downward by 43,000 to 129,000 jobs. The 12-month average stands at 42,200 jobs gains per month. Healthcare and social assistance exhibited the most significant job gain, adding 46,600 in June. At the same time, the unemployment rate edged down 0.1% from May to 4.2%, while the labor force participation rate stepped down 0.3% to 61.5% and is down from 62.3% in June 2025.

Manufacturing employment stepped up 3,000 jobs in June after shedding 2,000 in May. On the other hand, the collective job gains in April and May of 7,000 were revised downward by 10,000 jobs to a decline of 3,000 jobs. Manufacturing employment is down 38,000 over the year. Durable goods manufacturing employment rose by 6,000 in June, while nondurable goods employment fell by 3,000. The most significant gain in manufacturing in June occurred in fabricated metal product manufacturing, which added 3,400 jobs over the month. Meanwhile, the most significant loss occurred in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing, which shed 3,900 jobs over the month.

The employment-population ratio ticked down 0.2 percentage points from May to 59.0% in June and is down 0.7 percentage points from a year ago. Meanwhile, employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons fell by 124,000 from May to 4.7 million in June but are up from 4.5 million in June 2025. Native-born employment is up 571,000 from May but down 655,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign-born employment is down 747,000 in June and 506,000 over the year. At the same time, the native-born unemployment rate is up 0.2 percentage points over the year to 4.6%, while the foreign-born unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 3.6%.

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm employees rose 0.3%, or 13 cents, reaching $37.64. Over the past year, earnings have grown 3.5%. The average workweek for all employees stayed the same at 34.3 hours and edged down to 40.3 hours from 40.4 in May for manufacturing employees.