U.S. payroll growth slowed sharply in June, with only 57,000 jobs added
CoinDesk 2026-07-02 12:37:50
Context: The U.S. job market experienced a significant slowdown in June, with only 57,000 jobs added, falling short of expectations. This development could impact the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rate hikes, potentially influencing the market's expectations for a rate hike in the summer or early fall of 2026. The data also had an immediate effect on financial markets, with bitcoin prices rising and U.S. stock futures showing mixed results.
Key Facts
- The U.S. added 57,000 jobs in June, according to the government's Nonfarm Payrolls Report, which was lower than the 110,000 forecasted by economists and significantly below May's revised 129,000 gain.
- The unemployment rate came in at 4.2% versus an expected 4.3% and May's 4.3%, with the drop in the unemployment rate attributed to the Labor Force Participation rate declining to 61.5% from 61.8%.
- The weaker labor data could cool expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes in 2026, contributing to a drop in bitcoin prices initially, but bitcoin ultimately rose 4% to above $61,000 after the report.
- U.S. stocks showed mixed results, with Nasdaq 100 futures moving to a 0.7% gain from about flat ahead of the report, while the 10-year Treasury yield dipped four basis points to 4.46%.
- Market expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike by September changed following the report, with the probability dropping from about 65% to 50% according to CME FedWatch.