In June, the U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs to the labor market, far fewer than economists expected and a sharp slowdown from the 172,000 jobs originally reported for May, and May’s just downwardly revised job growth of 129,000. Unemployment dipped slightly to 4.2% from 4.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with much of this decrease being due to a decline in labor force participation rather than a decline in the number of people unemployed.

While the large number of jobs gained in May may have signaled to some that the tides were turning in a slow labor market, Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at Indeed, said that June proves that May “was the exception, not the new rule.”

“Honestly, this is about what I expected just given the stillness we’re seeing in the labor market,” Ullrich said of the latest jobs report. “If you look at the [Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary] report that came out earlier this week, the hire rates are quite low, layoff rates are low, quit rates are low so there’s just not a lot of movement in and out of jobs. And because of that, I didn’t expect there to be a blockbuster number of jobs added in June.” She explained that the decline in labor force participation was likely due to a mix of people aging out of the workforce and the impact of immigration policies, rather than folks........

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