Hiring in the US slowed last month in a sign that the labour market is cooling, but still-strong wage gains indicate that the Federal Reserve remains on track to raise interest rates during its next meeting.
Employers added 209,000 jobs in June, data released on Friday by the Labour Department showed, below analysts' projections. It was the smallest gain since December 2020.
The unemployment rate dipped to 3.6 per cent, in line with projections.
US hiring has grown by an average of 278,000 per month in the first half of this year, lower than 2022's average of 399,000 jobs added per month.
Even with US hiring slowing in June, wage gains are expected to keep the Fed on track to resume its interest rate increases after holding rates steady last month to the range of 5 per cent and 5.25 per cent.
Average hourly earnings increased by 0.4 per cent in June, Labour Department data showed. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.4 per cent.
Wage growth data still remains too high to be in line with the Fed's goal of bringing inflation back down to 2 per cent.
Traders expect the Fed to raise interest rate by 25 basis points when it meets later this month, data from the CME Group showed.
