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.