US labor market shows modest hiring increase in June
June data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated a slight rise in hiring and a six-month high in voluntary quits, suggesting the labor market may be stabilising despite ongoing uncertainties.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that hiring activity in June reached its highest level in three months, while the number of job openings fell slightly to 7.36 million, still above last year’s figures. Voluntary quits, a gauge of worker confidence, rose to a six-month peak, and layoffs remained essentially unchanged.
Industries such as construction and manufacturing led the hiring uptick, with both sectors also posting more job openings. In contrast, wholesale trade, healthcare, and leisure and hospitality saw the largest declines in openings.
"Put together, the labor market is finding steadier footing," said Nicole Bachaud, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter.
"Hires ticking up even as postings slow is the kind of detail that keeps this from reading as a market losing steam," Bachaud added, noting that the trend’s durability will depend on inflation and consumer spending.
Dan North, senior economist with Allianz Trade, cautioned that the improvement does not signal a decisive shift out of the low-momentum period. "The wheels are not coming off the bus; there’s certainly not negative job growth at the moment," he said, adding that most job growth is concentrated in healthcare and that participation rates have been declining.
The June figures are the first of several labor market reports due this week, culminating in the July jobs report on Friday.