finance
U.S. Employers Added 57,000 Jobs in June as Consumer Confidence Rose Slightly
The Labor Department reported Thursday that hiring slowed sharply last month while the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index edged up 0.6 point to 91.2 in June, remaining below year-ago levels.
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U.S. employers added 57,000 jobs in June, less than half the revised total for May, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate declined to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent, though the drop occurred mainly because some people stopped looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed.
The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose 0.6 point to 91.2 in June. The reading remains below the 95.2 level recorded a year earlier and well under the 120-plus readings common before the pandemic.
Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 to 215,000 in the week ending June 27, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week moving average declined 2,500 to 222,000. Job openings held at 7.6 million in May, above the 7 million level analysts had expected. Gross hiring slipped to 5.17 million from 5.26 million the prior month.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.43 percent, its lowest level since mid-May, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Rates have remained near 6.5 percent since late February, when conflict between the U.S. and Iran began disrupting oil shipments from the Persian Gulf.
Higher energy prices contributed to inflation reaching a three-year high and weighed on inflation-adjusted incomes, the report noted.
