U.S. employment growth in June fell short of expectations by tens of thousands of jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Payrolls increased by 209,000, according to the report. That figure is well below the consensus estimates of 240,000, a possible sign of economic cooling. The June numbers mark the lowest monthly job creation rate since December 2020. The unemployment rate showed little change, dropping to 3.6 percent from the May figure of 3.7 percent.
While President Joe Biden has touted "Bidenomics" as a main aspect of his reelection campaign, multiple recent polls have found that around two-thirds of Americans are dissatisfied with the economy under Biden, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Biden in a Friday statement declared that the June jobs report represents "Bidenomics in action," saying it shows that the economy is experiencing "stable and steady growth."
Average hourly earnings remained strong, growing by 4.4 percent from last year, the report found. The biggest employment gains came in government, which added over 60,000 jobs, mostly at state and local levels. Other sectors experiencing strong growth include the health care and construction industries.
In keeping with trends from the past few months, the leisure and hospitality sector experienced slow growth, adding just 21,000 jobs. The retail and transportation sectors, meanwhile, lost workers.